When the Worlds Cross
by doofi
Summary: *Updated 2/9* Co-Written with Heather. What would you do if you were a part of the War of the Ring? Three ordinary teenagers are about to find out.
1. Prologue How It All Started

When the Worlds Cross

Co-written by Heather and Jane

_Disclaimer_: Middle-Earth and its peoples belong to the great J.R.R. Tolkien.  Mia, Rowan, and Randy belong to us.  Any and all similarities to real life events/people are pure coincidence *sighs with relief now that legalities are over*

_Summary_: (of story as a whole) A perfectly normal school day is disrupted when three unsuspecting teenagers are sucked into Middle Earth.  Why are they there and do they have a purpose?  Surprisingly, they actually find answers to those.

_Authors' Notes_: co-written between Jane and Heather, two Lord of the Rings fans that are trying to keep true to the story.  First part more movieverse than bookverse, but will soon go to bookverse.  Credit to Heather's father and our friend Wesley as story consultants.

Enjoy!

_Prologue_

How It All Started

The most ordinary of days became terrible when two hapless girls were grouped with the class 'darling' for an English project.  He was intelligent.  He was popular—both at school and with girls.  He was on the Matheletes team.  (And on a side note, he had to be rich, since he was that type of person.)  Generally, an all American clean cut boy that got on the good sides instanter.

There was just one teensy problem with the assignment—the girls hated him, believing him egotistical and rather rude to his peers.  Or rather, Rowan hated him and Mia wavered between strong dislike and exasperated tolerance.

"You're too tolerant," Rowan informed Mia as they begrudgingly changed seats.  Mia just shrugged.  "And too nice to him."

"I'll be the peacemaker then.  Hi, Randy!" Mia said in a singsong voice, pasting a smile in place.  Rowan didn't even bother saying anything, just gave her friend a look.  "You got any ideas?"

Randy nodded and said, "You betcha.  We're going to do Tolkien for our author study.  All of us work on poster.  You can do biography, I'll do poetry, and, um—"

"Literary comparison," said Rowan, kicking Mia, who actually looked excited.  This made sense, since the other girl had been meaning to do hard-core research in preparation for the upcoming movie and probably had many details about Tolkien's life on file in her brain.  But still—it was RANDY.  "And no monster project that will take months, okay?"

"Oh, why not?"

"Because we don't have the time, that's why!" Rowan snapped.

"We can do it."

Mia rolled her eyes.  "I'm with Rowan on this one.  We can't pull of a super-deluxe overachiever type project in the time given to us."

However, Randy was still adamant about doing something big and over the top, while the girls would have settled for something a little less complex—and were equally adamant about it.

That argument took a while and was still going with a vengeance when the bell rang, with little preparation work actually taking place.  To make matters worse, the argument did not stop there (though Mia had her nose buried in _Complete Guide to Middle-Earth_ and was now happily ignoring them), with Rowan and Randy still bitching at each other while they walked out of the class.

"I don't see why not!" Randy was yelling.  "That kind of project—" Meaning one with a professional looking poster, flawless papers, and a lot of extra goodies that earned extra credit.  "—can be done."

"You want to put in the time for it?  Fine!  Mia and I," Rowan said loudly, missing Mia's sudden trip and fall, "happen to have lives!  And we're interested in keeping up with them!"

That said, she moved past Randy and took her own fall—followed closely by Randy.  Trouble was, they didn't land on the cement.

So much for the most ordinary of days.

~*~*~*~

When Mia came to, oddly lying on her backpack, she decided she felt like a turtle on its back and scrambled to her feet.  First thing she noticed was that she wasn't at school anymore, but in a forest.  And it was closer to night, rather than noon.  "What the H-E double hockey-sticks?" Mia muttered, looking around, and raised her voice slightly.  "Rowan?  Randy?  Hello?"

There was a crashing sound and Rowan ran out, nearly giving her friend a heart attack.  "Hi, Mia.  Glad to see you're alive," she said and got a good look around.  "Where the—"

"Forest," said Randy smugly, making a considerably quieter exit from the foliage.  "Or have you not noticed that yet?"

Rowan glared.  "Oh, shut up, you good for nothing—"

"Good for nothing?  Where do you get that?"

"I notice you're not doing anything to find out why we happen to be here."

"How am I—?"

While yet another bitch fest started, Mia started to put her book away, and then stopped, noticing the eerily familiar landscape.  _Can't be_, she thought, but wondered anyway.  _I guess there's one way to find out_.  She opened her book again and flipped the pages until she found a picture.  Stared at it.  Looked up at the view.  Blinked.  "Dudes!" she hissed urgently

"What?" Rowan said, irritated, and saw what Mia was pointing at.  First her gaze fell on the forest around them, and then the book in her hands.  Wondering what that was about, Rowan looked at the page.  And blinked.  "Oh.  No.  Way."  Mia nodded.  "Cool!"

Curious but pretending not to be, Randy took a look.  He snorted, as if this were an every day occurrence, and said, "So we're in Middle-Earth.  So what?"

Mia responded by thwacking him across the head with the book.

To Be Continued.

Liked?  Disliked?  Leave a review to let us know…the real fun starts in Chapter One.  (ooh, was that a poem?  Whups.)


	2. Chapter One Things Get Interesting

**When the Worlds Cross**

Co-written by Heather and Jane 

_Disclaimer_: Middle-Earth and its peoples belong to the great J.R.R. Tolkien.  Mia, Rowan, and Randy belong to us.  Any and all similarities to real life events/people are pure coincidence *wonders who reads disclaimers*

_Summary_: The trio of teenagers has a Nazgul encounter, decide to head to the nearest familiar place, and run into some familiar characters.  Randy gets meaner and everyone gets confused at some point.

_Authors' Notes_: co-written between Jane and Heather, two Lord of the Rings fans that are trying to keep true to the story.  First part more movieverse than bookverse, but will soon go to bookverse.  Credit to Heather's father and our friend Wesley as story consultants.

Note to Winterfox – yes, we know we're following a used formula but this was written for fun.  It'll get different as the story progresses.

Enjoy!

Chapter One 

Things Gets Interesting

~*~*~*~

"Mornin', sunshine," Rowan said as Randy opened his eyes.  It was about time that he'd woken up—Mia hadn't even hit him that hard, anyway.  "Now that Mia has 'told' you how stupid you are, let's move on.  The fact of the matter is…we are in Middle-Earth."

"From the look of things," Mia said, way too fast and excited, "we are right across the river from where Bree is.  I think."  She looked at the book in her hands again and began flipping through it frantically.

Rowan gave her a look.  "Okay, Mia…now that we're near someplace that we know about, what should we do?"

"Why don't we ask them?" Randy muttered from the ground.

"What are you rambling about now?" Rowan asked, exasperated.

Randy was lying flat on his back, looking to his left.  "Just them."

Puzzled, both Rowan and Mia followed his gaze.  What they saw surprised them all, for right there—not a hundred yards away—were hobbit (Sam, Merry, and Pippin, if Mia's guess was right) all running for their lives.

Rowan, Mia, and Randy all knew what was coming—and also knew better than to stand around as if they were goal posts or something.  Quickly, Rowan and Mia joined Randy on the ground, crawling behind some foliage for good measure, and then saw a hobbit who just HAD to be Frodo come running with a Ringwraith right behind him.

Ringwraiths.  One of the most nightmarish creatures ever known, and here one was almost right in front of them.

Amazingly, Frodo made a mad jump for the raft his friends had just released and made it.  Mia made funny noise but very quietly.  Rowan guessed that her friend was either getting over a panic attack or was finding flaws with something that was happening.  Or possibly both.

The four hobbits made it to safety, but that left Rowan, Mia, and Randy in a forest, in Middle-Earth, looking over at a Ringwraith.  A very angry Ringwraith, it should be noted.

Rowan smacked Randy.  "Ask them…what kind of smart-ass comment was that?" she whispered very harshly.

"Ummm….ummm…I'm not sure.  Maybe I still haven't regained my senses from that blow to the head."  He gave Mia a very mean look.  "Thanks a lot, Mi-ia."

Mia looked defensive.  "Hey…don't blame me for it…"

"Shut up, Randy.  You too, Mia," Rowan added for good measure.  "Don't you realize that there's a Ringwraith right there?"

They realized it, so all three sat in silence, watching the lingering wraith with intense fear.  Ten minutes later (which may as well have been ten hours later) the Ringwraith finally left.

"Now what?" Randy asked.

Mia rubbed her forehead.  "Pray that it's a dream and that we get back to school in time for lunch?"  They _looked_ at her.  "Not a dream, huh?"  She sighed and shrugged.

"Well," said Rowan after a moment of contemplation, "seeing as we know when and where we are, I think we should head to the Prancing Pony.  Just to watch things."  Randy started to open his mouth.  "No, don't you say a word!  We'd be safer—sort of—around people, anyway."

Since that made sense, Randy nodded in agreement.  They got up slowly, keeping an eye out for the Ringwraiths (though Mia insisted on calling them the 'Nazgul'.)  Slowly, they made their way across the river and to the inn of the Prancing Pony.

~*~*~*~

Once in the Prancing Pony, Randy immediately went back to his old habits and started looking for barmaids (Rowan kicked him) while Mia convinced Butterbur the Innkeeper that they were there to meet a specific person "that HAS to remain nameless for now."  (A slightly more complicated story than what they'd given the door-watcher.)  Thankfully, Butterbur accepted their 'reason' and gave them permission to stay.

With that done, they were free to wander about the inn.  That would have been great, except they were looking just a little out of place in their school clothes.  "Nothing like feeling inconspicuous," said Rowan wryly.

Randy looked up.  "Huh?"

"Shut up," said the girls, rolling their eyes at each other.  Both of them knew he was looking for girls to flirt with—which might have been tolerable had he not been involved in a relationship back in their world.

Looking vaguely offended, Randy started looking around again and said, "Can I get a beer?"

Rowan's jaw dropped.  "No!" she said.

"Aw, come on," Randy whined.  "I'm thirsty."

"I said no."

"I don't have to listen to you two girls," snapped Randy, looking irritated.

"Of all the—" Mia started, and gave up on that train of thought.  _Nothing he hasn't already heard, anyway,_ she thought wryly, tugging on her backpack straps absently.  "Rowan, knock him out."

"How?"

"Ummm…" Mia turned and saw an empty ale cup sitting on a table where four were seated.  A brilliant idea slammed in her head, jolting anything like common sense or observations out of place for a few moments.  She moved towards the table and asked, "Excuse me.  Hey, um, you, sir, are you using that?"

"No," the previous user of the cup said, puzzled.

"May we borrow it for a moment?"

The puzzled look on his face increased, but he said, "Certainly."

"Thanks, Mr. Underhill."  Mia picked the cup up, and then handed it to Rowan.  "Go with the cup, my friend."

"Very funny."  Rowan whacked Randy with the cup—he went down with a thud—and handed it back to Mia.  "Mission accomplished."

_That was quick_.  Mia blinked and set it down.  "Um, thanks again, Mr. Underhill."

Then it occurred to her that she'd seriously screwed up, as per to the fact she didn't know 'Mr. Underhill' yet.  Who was now staring at the teenagers as if they'd turned into the Nazgul.  "How do you know my name?"

Oops.

"We overheard you talking to Mr. Butterbur when we came in," Mia said, feeling grateful she hadn't said 'Baggins' instead.  _Oh, why don't I ever know when to shut up?_ she thought, making a note to not say anything else about Lord of the Rings until she was back at school, and kicked Rowan.  "Um, I'm Mia, this is my friend Rowan, and the unconscious person there is an idiot who calls himself Randy."

"Hi!" Rowan said, grinning.

"Ow.  Must…find…nicer…people."  The recently awoken Randy crawled off, virtually unnoticed, as the hobbits introduced themselves.  Of course, the teenagers had already know that the four hobbits were none other than Samwise Gamgee, Meriadoc Brandybuck, Peregrin Took, and Frodo 'Underhill' Baggins—though after Mia's screw-up, they weren't saying a thing.

After a moment, Mia picked up on the fact that Randy was gone, but ignored that in favor of thanking the hobbits, who were now letting the girls sit with them.  Besides, she and Rowan both knew that Randy would probably be able to handle himself—probably, that was.  And then the girls made a teeny mistake of asking them to describe the Shire.  Mia decided not to ask an elf to describe Lothlorien.

Sometime into retellings of recent Shire activities, Rowan glanced to her left and saw someone in the corner watching the hobbits' table.  _It's Strider!_ Rowan thought and elbowed Mia, who was thoroughly engrossed in a story involving a prank of Pippin's.

"Ow!  What?"

"It's Strider!" Rowan hissed, still elbowing Mia.

"Yeah, so?  Ow.  I recall him being taken!" Mia whispered.

Rowan whispered, "So? I seem to recall you liking the short guys!"  The girls looked at each other and started giggling uncontrollably.

The hobbits looked at them with some alarm.  "Are you all right?" Sam asked.

"Yes," Mia gasped, clutching at the table.

"What's so funny, then?" Merry asked, smiling brightly.

Rowan snorted, considered the answer, and laughed again.  "Well, um, nothing."

"Then is something…wrong?"

"No, no, we're—" And Rowan dissolved into giggles again, Mia following her example.  Stopping the giggle fest was made near impossible when Frodo asked the innkeeper whom the stranger in the corner was.  Of course, by then, anything seemed funny—once Rowan and Mia got laughing, they were hard pressed to stop.

Though Pippin's comment of "They come in pints?" and then running of to get a pint didn't help matters at all, really.

"That's enough," said Mia at last, straightening.  And then glaring at Rowan, who was still laughing.  "It's not funny anymore!"

"I'm thinking of what's coming next."

"Enh?" Mia said blankly, and then heard the name 'Baggins'—which prompted Frodo to go running over to the bar to stop Pippin.  "Oh, right, free show."

"Beg your pardon?" asked Sam and Mia grimaced.

"Or not!" Rowan hissed, watching Frodo fall over and then disappear—much to the shock of all.  Mia started to say something, but Rowan shook her head.  So there was a teensy bit of inaccuracy in the plotline—Rowan was just grateful that Randy wasn't making a bigger mess of things.

In the moment of confusion, Rowan took a second to review over what had happened to them and what was supposed to be happening.  All right, so she and her friends had fallen into Middle-Earth, at the start of the War of the Ring—just in time for the journey to Rivendell and beginning of the Fellowship, if one wanted to be picky.  That sounded like a fantasy of a die-hard Tolkienite (_present_, Rowan thought wryly) and definitely wasn't an every day occurrence.  The only problem that Rowan could see with all of this was that they could possibly be messing up the 'sacred storyline' (as Mia often went on tangents about).  It was one thing to watch Frodo suddenly disappear instead of doing a little song and dance.  It would probably be another if one of the Earth teenagers got a Middle Earth occupant killed.

Hopefully, that wouldn't happen.

Though with Randy's attitude about this, it might.  Rowan was beginning to suspect he thought it was some kind of game.

"Hey!  There's Frodo!" said Merry, pointing.

Mia turned as Rowan swatted Merry's hand (less attention, the better) and said, "And there GOES Frodo—with the Ranger…Strider."  This outraged Sam, and he ran after Frodo, with Merry and Pippin following him.

Rowan and Mia glanced at each other, wondering what to do, then scrambled after the hobbits.

~*~*~*~

"…so, we're lost," Randy said to some drunkard at the counter.  He didn't even notice that he was being largely ignored, by the drunks and sober people alike.  "And Mia thinks she's so…"

A hand grabbed his collar and yanked him away from the bar.  "Ack!" Randy said through a closing windpipe.  No one even noticed his going.

How surprising.

~*~*~*~

The girls and Randy followed the hobbits back to the hobbits room, where Strider and Frodo were.  It took a moment for the initial confusion to be settled, and another one for the candles to be put down.  While the hobbits went to make sure Frodo was all right, the teenagers sat down in against the wall…and it was then that Strider looked over to the girls and Randy.

"Just who are you three and why are you here?" he snapped, startling Mia (who had been listening to the hobbits.)

"Well," Randy spoke up, "We are from—"

"Randy, please shut up!" Mia snapped.

"No, _you_."

"Rather not."

"Rowan?!"  Randy turned to the other girl, entreating her help.

"Stay out of this, please," said Rowan, giving him the evil eye and turned back to Strider.

Behind her, Randy started to say something until Mia clamped her hand over his mouth, while pointing to the candles.  Her point was clear enough; say something and you get hurt badly by a flaming object.  Needless to say, Randy stayed quiet even though he looked as if he _really_ did not want to.

"Look, myself and my companions Mia and Randy are from…a land far across the oceans," said Rowan, inspired.  "We know of the dangers that face your lands.  We have come to lend what help we can."

"Could you be any stuffier?" Randy muttered.  Mia elbowed him.  "Ow."

"That was very nicely put.  What is it you can do?  You are garbed in strange clothes and have no weapons that I can see," said Strider.

"Well…" Rowan said under her breath.

"We small visions and knowledge of things to come," Mia broke in, looking rather nervous.  "They're not always clear but they are useful at times."

Frodo looked at her.  "Is that—" She gave him a look, one that clearly said, 'yes, I know your real name is Baggins'.  He nodded.  "I see."

Mia looked upset.  "Look, I'm sorry about the lie, but…"

"Is that how you know of the danger we are about to face?" Strider asked quickly, before _that_ could escalate.

"Yes, it is," answered Rowan.

Mia nodded in agreement.

"You guys, why are you telling him this?" whined Randy.  "I mean, you're always telling, and I don't think—"

"I think you should show the ladies a bit more respect," Strider told Randy, and then he looked back at Mia and Rowan.  "Why does this boy travel with you?  What use is he?  So far this evening, I have only seen him be a nuisance and have seen you hit him as well."

"He…"  Rowan wondered how to put 'he's an annoying jackass who somehow manages to stay on Mia's tolerable side and fell into here with us' in a polite manner.

"I'm here because I want to be!" Randy interjected snappishly.

"Was I talking to you, boy?"  Strider turned to the girls.  "I'm sorry but I must do this to your companion if we are to get anywhere."

Strider then proceeded to knock Randy out.

"And I am sorry to say," Mia commented, grinning, "that I'm rather grateful you did."  Merry and Pippin looked at her.  "What?  He was making me mad."

"Okay," said Rowan.  "Now that he's taken care of…we can prove what we said."

"How?" Sam asked.

"It's not like it's a lot of flashy stuff or—" Mia caught Rowan's look and smiled sheepishly.  "I'll be quiet now, okay?"

"Thank you," said Rowan, and looked at Strider again.  Also Frodo, since he was the one with the Ring of Power in this business.  "The reason we came to the Prancing Pony this evening was to warn these good hobbits that there are wraiths coming to this room tonight and you can _not_ stay here."

"Well…do you have somewhere for us to go?" asked Pippin.

Mia glanced at Randy.  "He was supposed to take care of that."

"Was he?" asked Frodo.

"Yes.  Guessing that he did _not_ take care of that," said Mia, making a face.

"From what I have observed, he most certainly has not.  You may all stay with me," said Strider as he stood, "But if the ladies are right, we must leave now."

The four hobbits gathered their things and went to Strider's room, followed by the teenagers.  Once they were there and safe, the hobbits began to question Strider about who he was.

"Look," snapped Mia, finally losing her patience.  "Strider is a friend of Gandalf's and he is here to help you.  Believe me."

Sam looked at her.  "Why did you not say that you knew of what was going on before?"

"Why did Mr. Baggins not say his true name?" Mia countered.  Rowan whistled.  "Shush.  We saw the Ringwraiths.  We know Sauron's reach is spreading.  It seemed cautious, at best."

"Let them be, Sam," said Frodo when Sam started to say something else.  "Their reasoning is sound."

Strider nodded absently.  "Indeed.  Hush, all of you," he said warningly.

At that moment, they heard a terrible noise coming from the room that the hobbits should have been in.  The noises sounded like screams better left in nightmares.  Mia suddenly looked around and said, "Uh, where's Randy?"

"Do we really care?" Rowan asked.

Mia gave her an offended look.  "_Rowan_!"

"I'm sorry…but I thought he woke up," said Rowan.  She looked at Strider, who shook his head, and then looked back at Mia apprehensively.  "He must still be in the room."  The screams kept going on.  "With them."

"Oh, my," said Mia and leaned against the bedpost, her eyes wide.  "He's a jerk but…yikes."

"Peace," said Strider, holding a hand.  "Perhaps he left the room before the wraiths arrived or they ignored him completely."  The girls and the hobbits just looked at the Ranger.  "All right, the latter is the most unlikely, but do not give up hope for your friend.  We will see tomorrow what fate befell him."

No one had a response for that, and at last, the screams came to a stop.  They all sat in silence, listening to the echoes, and slowly fell asleep.

Early the next morning, they got up, and while the hobbits gathered up their things (again) the girls rushed to the inn room where Randy was supposed to be in.  There was no sign of him.

"This isn't good," said Mia, looking around and kicking at the mess of shredded mattress and pillows on the floor.  She noticed something.  "Hey, Rowan? His backpack's gone."

Rowan shrugged.  "Maybe he left."

"Maybe."

But when the girls inquired about his whereabouts, Butterbur informed them that he had not seen Randy leave the inn at all.  Recalling that the innkeeper's memory was not stellar, Mia asked a few of the patrons and received the same answer.  "He disappeared into thin air!" Pippin joked.

"Very funny, Pippin," Mia said dryly.  "Wonder what happened to him, though."

Rowan sighed.  "Oh, _why_ are you wondering?  You're not his keeper."

"This isn't high school, Rowan," said Mia in a low voice.  "Randy going off by himself here means big trouble in the worst sense, not in the 'borrow your wallet without telling' sense."

Strider approached them before Rowan could reply.  "We must be off now," he informed them.  "No doubt your friend is on the road.  Did he know of where we are to be headed?"

"Probably," said Rowan.  "Rivendell, right?"

"Yes."

As the seven of them left the Prancing Pony, Mia shot a look back at the inn.  What had happened to Randy?  And how had he simply disappeared from everyone's sight?

_Hopefully, we'll find out,_ thought Mia and, realizing that she was lagging behind, hurried to catch up with the others.

To Be Continued – in Chapter Two, where some questions are answers and unfortunately, more come up.  Let us know what you think by leaving a little commentary of any sort.  Ta!


	3. Chapter Two Of Traveling and Bad Surpri...

When Worlds Cross

Co-written by Heather and Jane

_Disclaimer_: Middle-Earth and its peoples belong to the great J.R.R. Tolkien.  Mia, Rowan, and Randy belong to us.  Any and all similarities to real life events/people are pure coincidence.

_Summary_: The trip to Rivendell begins and all goes well, until the reappearance of the Nazgul.  Warning for some humor and some not-so-nice surprises.

_Authors' Notes_: co-written between Jane and Heather, two Lord of the Rings fans that are trying to keep true to the story.  First part more movieverse than bookverse, but will soon go to mainly bookverse.  Credit to Heather's father and our friend Wesley as story consultants.

Note to Zage—here is where your question gets answered.  Thanks to all others who reviewed, btw.

Chapter Two 

Of Traveling and Bad Surprises

~*~*~*~

The next few days of travel were uneventful—once they got out of Bree, that was.  Randy's disappearance was of little concern to Strider (with good reason) and the hobbits hadn't really met the boy, so they had no personal reason to worry.  To tell the truth, Mia was the only worried one.  Rowan was a little disgusted by this, as she mentioned the first evening of travel: "Randy was a stuck-up pig who made everyone else's life difficult!  What are you worrying about him for?"

"Oh, come _on_, the Nazgul were there and making a big mess of things.  Literally," Mia hissed.  Rowan stifled a snort.  "We're only lucky if he's not off stabbing Smeagol—"

"You're calling _Gollum_ by his given name?!"  Rowan shook her head.  "You're weird."

"There's a newsflash.  Can I get back to the point?" asked Mia, frowning a little.  Her friend stayed silent.  "Thank you.  As I was saying, we're only lucky if Randy's not off killing bad guys that have to stick around or blabbing secrets to the elves."

Rowan rolled her eyes.  "And you wouldn't do the same?"

"_Ro-wan_.  _No_.  Duh.  We're screwing up the saga.  I am not happy."  Mia moved ahead, muttering about missing points and how she was never complaining about walking a scant two miles home again.  Rowan shook her head.  They weren't doing anything to 'screw up' the saga so far—whatever was different from the books hadn't been their fault.

_I hope,_ thought Rowan.

The journey to Rivendell was proving to be a long one, and thankfully, there were few complaints and problems.  Possibly the most persistent one was that Pippin kept complaining about no second breakfast.

He was lucky that he was being cute about it.  Otherwise Mia might not have intervened on Rowan's effort to shut him up.

"Don't humans have regular breakfasts, or are you making the effort for us hobbits?" Pippin finally asked Mia in exasperation.

Absently, she replied, "Not really.  Most humans do eat breakfast, though I usually don't."

"_What_!"

Oops.  _That_ explanation took a while.  (Though was it _really_ Mia's fault if she never had time to get breakfast in between waking up and getting to school?)

They finally reached Weathertop, about six days from Rivendell, and a rather cool hill besides, according to Rowan.  (Mia just muttered about aching calves and how comfy walking shoes were a heaven-sent gift.)  They decided to set up camp at the top of the hill.

"Do not light a fire," Strider warned them.  "For that will draw the Nazgul to you."  Mia dropped the stick she'd been holding.  "Nor should Mr. Baggins put on that ring again.  That would be a…siren call, yes?"  He looked at Rowan, who nodded.

"I don't get it," Merry whispered.

Mia whispered back, "It has two definitions and either one involves me making an idiot of myself with funny noises."

"Ooh, I want to hear them."

"_No_, Pippin!"

Rowan snickered.  _Got yourself into _that_ mess, Mia_…

As the sky darkened, the conversation died down a little, though not after the girls had assured their traveling companions that they were adults.  (Mia had made the 'cutting throat' motion when Rowan started to specify age—eighteen was not the coming of age for hobbits and Mia doubted Strider really cared for how old they were.)  Once Frodo decided to try to get some sleep, the conversation seriously hit a snag and everyone else either sat around or talked quietly.  (The latter in the case of the hobbits.)  When Strider stepped off to scout the area, Rowan noticed someone standing at the bottom of the mountain.  "Hey, Mia, look."

"Henh?" the sleepy Mia asked blearily.  She'd taken Frodo's example to heart and had tried to get some shut-eye.

Rowan nodded.  "There.  Someone's there."

"A Nazgul?"

"Don't know.  Could be."

"Oh, great."  Mia got to her feet and looked.  "They're climbing."

"I don't like this."

"What's wrong?" Sam asked.

The girls exchanged looks before Mia gestured and Rowan turned to say, "We see something down there.  Keep an eye out.  We'll be right back."  Mia groaned as they grabbed the weapons Strider had loaned them.  "What?"

"You just signed our death sentence.  Don't you ever _watch_ horror movies?"

"Sorry, I don't believe in the _Scream_ rules of life."  Rowan started climbing down and tried not to laugh at Mia's muttered curses.  Neither girl claimed to be a super-athlete, though apparently, Rowan was more used to such adventures than Mia was.  (Though at least the other girl was being stoic about it.)  "Will you come…"

It took only a few minutes to get to the same level as the mysterious figure.  Rowan blinked twice.  "_Randy_?" she exclaimed, while Mia looked around nervously.

Randy grinned.  "Hey, Rowan.  Mia."

"Where the hell were you?" Rowan lashed out immediately.  Knowing that Randy was alive did not install any warm-fuzzy feelings for him.  "Those guys…"

Mia shivered, hearing something high-pitched on the breeze.  "I don't like this."

"Yeah, I got out of there in time.  It was kind of wild," said Randy, still grinning.  Now it was more of a demonic grin, rather than easy going.  Rowan wondered just what he was trying to do.  "You hanging out with those hobbits you picked up at the bar?"

"Ahem!"

"Had more luck than you," Rowan snapped.

Randy was still on the page where he grinned like a demonic idiot.  "I dunno about that…I'm having a great time," he said.

"_Ahem_!"

"_What_, Mia?"

"He didn't have a sword.  And since when was it so dark?" Mia hissed, eyes widening as Randy stepped forward, seeming to bring the shadows of the night with him.  They had only see that happen once before and at a fair distance, too.  She swallowed hard.  "Rowan…I think he's a Ring-wraith."

"_WHAT_!"

At that precise moment, Randy attacked and Rowan had to leap out of the way, otherwise her skull would have been smashed in on the rocks.  Randy ended up lunging at Mia, who responded with a kick from the side—something that she'd forced herself to perfect after a unit of self-defense in physical education.  Randy fell back and drew a blade.

"Morgul blade," hissed Mia.

"Your grasp on this land is getting better."

"I hope you enjoy the shadow world!"

Rowan looked up at that moment, and saw four other Ringwraiths making for the camp.  She yelled, "_STRIDER_!" and drew the dagger that she'd gotten back in Bree.  "See, Randy, we're prepared too."

"Not prepared enough to save the halflings," Randy spat, and would have struck them with the Morgul blade had Rowan not lunged at him at that precise moment.  She managed to both dodge his blade _and_ score a hit on his shoulder, which made him hiss and grasp at the wound.  And then he gave her the oddest look.  "Rowan…ow…what the…you will pay!"

Mia had drawn her dagger (also gotten while in Bree) and might have gotten her own hit in, had Randy not moved.  "See?" she hissed at Rowan.

Their little fight was stilled for a moment when a hobbit yelled in horror.  The girls exchange a quick look before Mia attempted another kick (this time from the front) while Rowan lunged at Randy with her dagger in hand.  It wasn't the most flawless of plans and a bit on the risky side as well.

Their combined efforts of daggers and kicking worked, however, and Randy toppled off the mountain.  Wasting no time, the girls ran to the top and joined in the hobbits' efforts against the Nazgul.  In his fright, Frodo slipped on the Ring and then into the Shadow World, making him all the more visible to the wraiths.

"Where's Frodo?" cried Merry, having missed seeing that.

Rowan yanked him out of the way from a Nazgul.  "Off being invisible, I bet," she said angrily, and looked at the Nazgul that was slowly moving to a corner, then reaching out…and then stabbing down with a blade.  There was a voiceless yell and then Frodo reappeared, clutching his shoulder.

"Frodo!" Mia screamed, just as Strider came running back waving torches.  He beat the Nazgul back, setting them afire and toppling them off of the mountain much as the girls had done to Randy.

"What's happening?" Sam cried as he and Mia rushed to Frodo's side.

Mia looked at the blade that lay next to the fallen hobbit.  "A Morgul blade," she murmured as Strider approached.  He picked it up and the blade crumbled in an instant.  The hobbits gasped and Rowan felt a bit queasy.  "He's going into the Shadow World, isn't he, Strider?"

"Yes," said Strider, not bothering to ask how Mia knew.  "We must hurry to Rivendell."

Pippin looked up, worry in his eyes.  "Can't we do anything now?"

"Yes, but we must not delay.  The Nazgul may return…and fear not for Frodo," said Strider, looking down at the hobbit.  "He is not dead."

"He'll be worse than if we don't get a move on," snapped Rowan.  They looked at her.  "Am I the only one who realizes this?"  They shook their heads and Rowan realized that someone was missing.  "Mia?"

"Let's go," Mia said from behind her.

Rowan jumped and turned to see Mia holding their backpacks.  She groaned.  "Mia, that's not _fair_."

~*~*~*~

The next day was not a good one.  Much to Mia's horror, Frodo began hallucinating by noontime.  She drew Rowan aside and hissed, "This did not happen in the…"

"I know, I know!  What do you think it means?"

"That we're in trouble," Mia muttered.  She wasn't happy at all.  Too many things were different from the storyline she was familiar with and so far, the excusable differences were now outweighed by the gravity of the inexcusable differences.  And who gave Randy permission to go to the Dark Side, anyway?

Strider called to them just then, asking them to watch over Frodo (and the other hobbits) while he looked for a plant that might stop the wound's progress.  Mia alternated between trying to remember what the plant was called and worrying about Frodo.  "You're almost worse than Sam," Rowan muttered after a moment.

Sam looked up.  "Beg pardon?"

"I said that Mia's worrying almost as much as you, Mr. Samwise," said Rowan, seeming surprised that Sam had overheard her.  She'd tried to speak as quietly as possible.

_Nice save_, Mia thought dryly as Strider returned, followed by an elf named Glorfindel.  _Oh, not _again_—he's not supposed to show up until we got closer to the river_.  She decided not to dwell on this irregularity, as the arrival of Glorfindel would lead (hopefully) to a speedier recovery for Frodo.

After introducing the elf to the hobbits, Strider proceeded to tell Glorfindel what had happened to Frodo, with the help of the hobbits.  Glorfindel agreed to take Frodo to Rivendell immediately—which was a very good decision, as Frodo was starting to look seriously sick and not just delusional anymore.  Truly, he was descending into the shadow world.

"This isn't a good sign," Mia muttered as they got Frodo on the horse and watched them gallop for Rivendell.  "I don't like this one bit."

Not looking at anyone, Strider said, "These are dark times.  I would be surprised if anyone here enjoyed themselves very much."  He said it very quietly, almost to himself.

"Think they'll make it?" said Merry after a moment.

"Yes," said Rowan and Mia at the same time.

"Oh, good."

"What took you so long?" Sam asked, finally voicing a question that must have been bothering him for some time now.

Mia's eyes hardened.  "We had to kick Randy's butt."

"Randy?  So he lives?"

"I would not call it living," Rowan said angrily.

Strider looked at them, a bit surprised at their vehemence.  For all their animosity towards the boy, he had assumed they would be at the very least pleased to know that Randy had survived.  "What has happened to your, ah, comrade?" he said, as if he were choosing his words carefully.

"I like to call it registering in the club of the Nazgul," said Mia, eyes still hard.

The three hobbits and the one Ranger stared at the girls in disbelief.

To Be Continued – in Chapter Three, where Gandalf enters the picture and so does the romance subplot.  We think.  Leave reviews if you like or if you disliked.


	4. Chapter Three Rivendell and Psychedelic...

When the Worlds Cross

Co-written by Heather and Jane

_Disclaimer_: Middle-Earth and its peoples belong to the great J.R.R. Tolkien.  Mia, Rowan, and Randy belong to us.  Any and all similarities to real life events/people are pure coincidence.

_Summary_: In which the travelers reach Rivendell.  The girls get to meet Gandalf and then they both have extremely awkward encounters with people.  Read on to see how and why.

_Authors' Notes_: co-written between Jane and Heather, two Lord of the Rings fans that are trying to keep true to the story.  First part more movieverse than bookverse, but will soon go to bookverse.  Credit to Heather's father and our friend Wesley as story consultants.

Thank you to all who reviewed.  And yes, the title is supposed to make sense.  Enjoy.

Chapter Three

Rivendell and Psychedelic Thrill Rides

~*~*~*~

A mere hour after Frodo's send off to Rivendell and the news about Randy had been given, the fact that 'Frodo had been severely stabbed by a Nazgul' seemed to finally slam into place in Mia's mind.  Rowan had been expecting this occurrence (as the events had been far too rushed for information to set in properly) but had not been expecting a full-blown panic attack bordering on hysteria.

Though knowing Mia and her tendency to stress out over easy essays, Rowan really ought to have expected that.

"Okay, that's it," said Rowan, just as Mia's voice took on a high-pitched tone.  The not hysterical girl had warned the hobbits and Strider that maybe Mia might go ballistic, and up until that point, it had been easy to ignore Mia's frantic ranting.  "I'm shutting her up."

"How?" Merry asked.

"You'll regret asking."  Rowan turned and walked over to Mia.  "Yo, Mia.  Snap out of it!"

Mia blinked but did not snap out of it.  "Did you see the wound?" she demanded.

"Oh, for the love of St. Valentine, you knew that was going to happen!"

"Yes, but I didn't think it would be that bad!" Mia exclaimed, going for the high-pitched voice again.

Rowan thought a second and slapped Mia.  The other girl yelped and the boys turned around to look at them curiously.  "Are you quite finished?" Rowan hissed.

"Erm.  Yes.  Yes, I am."

Not a solution Rowan liked using on a normal basis but it did work.

The traveling party, including the ever-lovable Bill the Pony, arrived at Rivendell not two evenings later.  (Panic was a great motivation.)  Much to their relief, Frodo was already there, being treated for his wounds, and the river had defeated the Nazgul.  For the time being, as they were immediately informed—the Nazgul were in a limbo between life and death.  They could not die.

Even so, it was good to know that the Wraiths were gone for the _moment_, Rowan surmised.

They were all given nice rooms, as well as time to clean up, and to the great fortune of the teenagers, new clothes.  Rowan was not happy about the fact that the clothes were dresses yet declined to make a statement at the time.  Hopefully it would be temporary.  But Mia was keeping her sneakers.  She didn't like the boots.  They were nice boots yet she didn't feel quite comfortable without her normal shoes.

The next day, Frodo awoke and they got to meet Gandalf the Grey.

Mia had been looking forward to the meeting with enthusiasm until Rowan yanked her aside and hissed, "Gandalf's gonna know!"

"Know what?  That Randy's a bloody twit and we're not too sorry he's gone, only sorry that we can't make sure his butt stays kicked?"

"Well, obviously—but Gandalf's gonna know we're not from Middle-Earth."  Rowan waited a moment for that bombshell to sink in and dropped the next one.  "He might send us back."

Mia had a wide-eyed panic look going for her as they finally reached the room where Gandalf was sitting.  Going back to their time was not a good thought, not in the very least.  She and Rowan were having fun—incident with Randy the Ringwraith non-withstanding—and had thus far not made too much of a difference in the story's progression.  _Have to stop thinking about this as a story_, Mia scolded herself as they entered Gandalf's sitting room.  _It's reality now…though for how long_?

"Ah, it is the two girls, formerly part of a trio that included a nuisance of a boy," said Gandalf solemnly.  The girls nodded, both of them feeling tongue-tied.  The wizard's eyes twinkled.  "Who still have the foot wear from a place outside of Middle-Earth."

"You _had_ to keep your shoes?" Rowan asked, staring at Mia's feet in shock.

Mia smiled sheepishly.  "I have my reasons."

Gandalf just looked at them, almost as if he were trying not to smile.  "I'm sure you do.  How did you two come to Middle-Earth?" he asked.  The teens stumbled over each other's sentences as they explained their accidental 'fall' in and subsequent events.  He only interrupted them twice.  The first was to ask what the fall was like.

"What it was like?" Rowan repeated, stalling for a little time.  "Well…it was kind of like a psychedelic trip from the sixties."  Mia giggled.  Gandalf blinked.  "I mean a lot of swirling, bright colors…kind of like heading into a…" Sheesh, she couldn't say vortex or black hole here could she?

"Whirlpool," Mia supplied.  "I didn't like it that much."  She made a face.  "I mean, the colors were interesting but it felt too much like some ride at Great America or something.  You know, one of those things you hate the first time around and want to experience it again when it's over.  The fall, I mean."

"You've only been to Great America _once_!"

Mia nodded.  "And I was nauseated the whole time."  Rowan had to admit that her friend was right on two accounts—that Mia had been sick at Great America and that the fall into Middle Earth was a lot like a roller coaster thrill ride.  Except without the safety straps or knowing that there was an end to it.

Of course, the hard landing hadn't made it any easier.  No wonder Mia had made the connection between the trip between worlds and something she disliked immensely.

"All right," Gandalf cut them off before they could get into discussing Great America any more.  Wisely (of course) he had chosen not to ask what Great America was.  "Do you believe that you have a purpose here?"

Rowan said, "Honestly?  We don't know."

Gandalf looked at them.  "You do not?  I find that hard to believe.  You are great warriors, are you not?"

The girls exchanged looks of surprise.  This wasn't something they'd expected at all.  "Define warrior," said Rowan after a second.  Mia gave her a look.  "I mean in the here and now Rivendell context."

"The circumstances of your arrival were very telling.  The unexplained falls, the encounter with the Nazgul, and your assisting the hobbits without being told.  All of this spells out only one reason for being here: You were summoned here to help with the destruction of the One Ring," Gandalf said.  "I should know.  I summoned you."

Rowan was shocked.

"Well, we didn't expect that Saruman the phlegm-head did," Mia muttered and clamped a hand over her mouth.  She looked mortified.

Gandalf chuckled.  "You see."

"Right…but there's just one problem."  Rowan ignored the look Mia was giving her.  "We're not warriors just yet.  We're still in training."  That was a somewhat accurate statement—they were still in school.

Gandalf raised his eyebrows.  "Then how do you know of Saruman?" he asked Mia.  "And 'Mr. Underhill?'"

"Luck and visions," Mia said firmly.  She was _not_ going to say 'I read it in a book', which her standard answer for anything else.  That would lead to complications that were best left avoided.  "We did not expect any of this so do not count on them as always being right—I mean, we ran into trouble right away, with the Nazgul!"

"And your friend had the misfortune to join the Ringwraiths," Gandalf said slowly.  "I find that very odd.  And you say he was not stabbed by the same sort of blade that young Frodo was struck by?"

Rowan shook her head.  "No, sir.  We would have noticed—last time we saw Randy before his going all Nazgul was at the Prancing Pony.  Only problem he had then was a minor concussion."

"And how did that come about?"

"Strider punched him."

"I see."  Gandalf looked deep in thought for a moment, before suddenly changing the subject completely.  He asked them about their 'training' and their 'studies,' thankfully not touching on every day life.  It seemed to surprise him that Rowan had studied archery while Mia had not.  He said, "How is that possible?  Obviously you two are the same age."

"Mia is not as advanced as I am," said Rowan, ignoring Mia's annoyed glare.  "In the way of fighting skills, I mean.  Her studies are more based towards the literary side of the spectrum."

"Very much so," Mia agreed, looking appeased.  "I always meant to study archery, though…but my, uh, other studying time got in the way."  How exactly did one explain six pages of math homework and essays to a wizard, anyway?

Gandalf glanced at her.  "I see," he said slowly.  Before either girl could worry about him following up on that line of questioning, Gandalf dismissed them.  There were other things that he needed to take care of.

As they left, Rowan murmured, "This is so _Kid In King Arthur's Court_, y'know?"

"Yeah.  Except Camelot did not include huggable hobbits," said Mia with a grin.  "Bye!"  She ran off.

Rowan froze, digesting that statement, and then sighed, looking down.  "Mia…hobbits…huggable?  Good _grief_," she muttered.  "Should have _known_ this was a bad thing."

How could she have forgotten that Mia's favorite characters from Tolkien's world were the hobbits—any and all of them?  (Except maybe the Sackville-Bagginses.)  And leaving Mia alone with the hobbits (considering the fact that the hobbits were just adorable) was just a _bad_ idea.

"I better go after her," Rowan muttered, running after her friend.

~*~*~*~

Rowan actually found Mia in Elrond's library (_"I got lost!"_) looking at the different titles.  The only trouble was that the books Mia was interested in happened to be written in Elvish—a language that neither Rowan nor Mia could read fluently.  They both left, one more disappointed than the other, and ran into Strider on the way.

"Hello, Aragorn," Rowan said brightly.

Mia looked heavenwards.  "Ro-_wan_…"

Strider (or Aragorn) only smiled at them.  "From what Gandalf has said, I would not be surprised if you knew any of my other names," he said and laughed when Mia chose to look past his right shoulder.  "I suppose that answers my question!"  In a more serious tone, he said, "I am sorry about what happened to your friend."

"So are we," Mia said politely, and in a different tone, "Though if joining that nightmare was his choice, then he deserves his fate."

"So quick to condemn?"

"No.  He chose it, after all," said Mia wryly, and nodded in farewell.  Aragorn returned the nod before walking into the library.  Mia smiled.  "Man who would be—Rowan," she said sternly, pulling her friend along.  Rowan had just stood there, grinning, during the entire conversation and frankly, Mia found that a bit aggravating.  "That's enough."

"Enh.  Strider's cool."

Mia rolled her eyes.  From Aragorn to Strider in less than five minutes—next they'd be calling him Estel or Elessar.  "And hot too, according to your book," she grumbled good-naturedly, and snorted at Rowan's startled blink.  "You know what I mean.  Let's go find the kitchen."  That got a look.  "_WHAT_?  I'm hungry.  It's not about the hobbits!"

"Yeah, right."

"No, really, it's not."

"It so _is_!"

"It is so _not_!"

The girls were still debating pleasantly over the kitchen point when they turned into a wide, formal looking corridor that appeared to lead to any and all rooms on the floor.  Mia sped up a little in order to check down an adjoining hallway, while Rowan continued at her normal, sedate pace…

…and promptly bumped into someone.  _Oops,_ Rowan thought, and glanced up.  And then back down near immediately.  "Oh, um, I'm sorry," she said to her shoes.  No plans to look up again, as blushing would probably ensue.  "Wasn't, uh, watching where I was going."

Noticing that Rowan had suddenly stopped, Mia turned and failed to stifle a wicked grin.  _Shoulda guessed_, she thought, leaning against the wall casually.  This looked to be an _interesting_ day.

"It's all right," said the elf Rowan had bumped into.  He said it very politely too.  "I was likewise preoccupied.  What is your name?"

"Um, Rowan Aran," Rowan said to her shoes.  _Yes, you are being very cool and casual_, her inner voice said acerbically.  _Look at the shoes, yes, that'll make a good impression_.  Sad thing was, inner voices had a tendency to be right.

"Greetings, Rowan Aran.  I am Prince Legolas Greenleaf of Mirkwood," said the elf.

Rowan looked up for all of a nanosecond.  "Oh, uh, nice to meet you," she said.  _Yes!  I am talking with the Prince of Mirkwood…must ask Mia _exactly_ how far that is from here…this is so great.  One problem—Why can't I look directly at him_?  There lay an interesting line of questioning.

Legolas smiled at the top of her head.  "The same," he said.  Rowan got a happy-glowly type of feeling in her stomach (and a couple fluttery butterflies, too) at that.  A moment tinged with mutual awkwardness passed before Legolas said, "Pardon me, but I must take my leave."

"Right, yeah, I gotta go…right.  See you later," Rowan said, keeping her eyes on the floor as she moved to catch up with Mia.  Legolas murmured something, but neither girl heard it—he was too far away by then.  Perhaps it was best that they did not hear, as Legolas was not sure he would have wanted Rowan to overhear.

Mia grinned at Rowan, rather wickedly.  "Have a nice conversation with your shoes, dear?" she teased.

"Oh, be quiet!"  Rowan grinned, slightly giddy, and tried not to think of what expression she must have at this point in time.  "I bumped into—"

"Yeah, yeah, Legolas Greenleaf, son of Thenduil, Prince of Mirkwood, yada yada—I _did_ hear you," Mia said, exasperated.

Rowan looked at her friend, vaguely surprised.  "How are you so _calm_ about this?"

"I've no reason—_YIIPES_!"  Mia was suddenly tackled.

"Mia," said Rowan, trying not to laugh (and failing horribly) at the sight in front of her.  "I think two hobbits just jumped you."

Mia sighed.  "I noticed.  Can I breathe, please?" she said, attempting to sit up and getting a good look at her attackers.  She smiled despite herself.  "Hi, Merry.  Hi, Pippin.  Question—just what are you _DOING_?"

"Frodo's awake—well, you must already know that—and we thought you might want to say 'hello' and oh, Bilbo Baggins is here," Pippin chattered, helping Merry yank Mia to her feet and then dragging her off.

"_ROWAN_!  HELP!"

Rowan laughed and followed, already plotting her 'revenge.'

~*~*~*~

Merry and Pippin proceeded to lead Mia to the room in which Frodo wasresting.  Mia tried (and failed) to conceal her feelings when she saw Frodo lying weakly on the bed.  _I'm gonna kill that Ringwraith even more into the in-between world,_ she thought.  They visited with Frodo for a moment, making sure he was well.  Merry and Pippin disappeared at some point, as did Bilbo.  Leaving Mia and Rowan in the room with Frodo.

The next time Mia looked around, Rowan was gone.

"Damn it, Rowan," Mia said under her breath.

"Is there something wrong…I'm sorry, what's your full name?" Frodo asked.

"Um, it's Mia Regan," Mia said as she suddenly became very interested in the pattern on the bed's comforter.

"Well, Mia Regan, something seems to be upsetting you."  _Great, how do I say I'm stressing out about being in the same room as one of my favorite hobbits and am upset about the whole Randy thing_? Mia thought in exasperation.  "Are you all right?"

_This_ she could answer.  "Oh…yes, I'm fine.  Just upset about my friend," Mia said, side-stepping the other issue neatly.

"Oh…ouch!"  Frodo winced.

Mia jumped.  "Frodo!  Are you okay?"  Dumb question.  "Is there something I can do?"  Better.

Frodo gave her a small smile.  "I'll be all right, Mia.  My shoulder still hurts, that's all."

"Right, right," Mia said softly, wanting to smack herself.  "Is there anything I can do—seriously?"

Frodo looked a bit sheepish.  "Well…" Mia felt a bit nervous and then almost smacked herself again.  She'd been hanging around the school perverts for too long.  "Could you…maybe…fluff my pillow?" he asked shyly.

Mia sighed, more with relief than the aimed for exasperation.  "Of course I can," she said, leaning over to fluff up his pillow behind him.

"Thank you, Mia."

Mia blushed.  "No problem, Frodo," she said, stepping back and meeting his eyes.  Their gaze stayed locked for a minute, starting off a panic reaction in Mia's brain.  _Do not stare do not stare, this is the Ringbearer, this is FRODO, you happen to have a longtime respect for this…no, he DOES NOT LOOK CUTE LIKE THAT_! she told her inner voice sharply.

Time to get out of there.

"Well, I should be going…find out where Rowan got to and all of that…okay?"  With that said, Mia started to leave the room, quite unaware that Rowan had been listening the whole time.  While she planned for revenge for the 'talking to shoes' incident,' naturally.

As Mia rushed out the door, Rowan stuck out her foot to trip her.  Not only did Mia trip, but did a quite ungraceful yet harmless face plant into the floor.  The culprit of the crime almost burst out laughing but remembered in time to keep her mouth shut.  _Can't let them know I was planning that_, Rowan thought gleefully.

"Damn it, Rowan," Mia said to the marble, thankful that she was not severely injured.

"So, have a nice talk with Frodo's pillow?" Rowan asked mockingly.

"OH—Rowan, you little…"  Mia was cut off by Frodo's voice.

"Mia—oww."  The hobbit had to be sitting up.  Both girls wondered what exactly was up with _that_ (Mia with panic, Rowan with a certain sort of 'gonna-getcha' glee.)  "Are you all right?  What's happened?"

Hearing his distress, Mia righted herself and said, "I'm fine, Frodo.  It's just my _friend_ being silly."  She gave Rowan an evil look.

"Oh, all right then," said Frodo, sounding just a little amused.  Mia vowed death on someone.  "I suppose you'll both be leaving now?"

Rowan smiled brightly.  "Yes, I think we've taken up enough of your time, Mr. Baggins.  But we'll be back!"  She grabbed Mia's arm and hauled her out of there.

~*~*~*~

"We'll be back?  What is this, _Terminator_?" Mia exclaimed once they were well out of earshot.  Her face was just a bit red.  "And that was very rude…not to mention mean!"

"So?  I thought it was funny."

Mia looked as if she were getting a headache.  "It was _not_ funny.  Not in the least…I'm leaving."  She stormed off.

Rowan snickered.  _Wonder what happened_…

To Be Continued – in Chapter Four.  Where the Council takes place, someone gets annoyed and some confusion abounds.  Reviews and commentary are welcome.


	5. Chapter Four The Council and Encounters

When the Worlds Cross

By Heather and Jane

_Disclaimer_: Middle-Earth and its peoples belong to the great J.R.R. Tolkien.  Mia, Rowan, and Randy belong to us.  Any and all similarities to real life events/people are pure coincidence.

_Summary_: It is time for the Council of Elrond to take place and for Gandalf to answer a few questions—and for Mia to get frustrated.

_Authors' Notes_: co-written between Jane and Heather, two Lord of the Rings fans that are trying to keep true to the story.  First part more movieverse than bookverse, but will soon go to bookverse.  Credit to Heather's father and our friend Wesley as story consultants.

All Elvish phrases used in this chapter (and rest of story) came from a wonderful website found at http://www.grey-company.org/Circle/language/intro.htm.  Unlike certain created characters, we are not exactly fluent in Elvish and had to seek translations.

Thank you to all who reviewed.  Enjoy.

Chapter Four

The Council and Encounters

~*~*~*~

Time passed—all of two days—and at a somewhat slow pace to boot.  Rowan kept busy by practicing archery and Mia tried to translate a few books she'd found in Elrond's library.  (Rowan suspected someone had pointed her to them.)  A curious Sam asked Mia if she could read Elvish—the reply was, "I'm _trying_, but I failed Spanish!"  (Wrong—she cleared with a D-.)  The girls spoke once of the confusing circumstances, such as how Gandalf got them instead of warriors, Randy's conversion darkness in order to join a group of half-dead kings bound to Sauron, and then they got into a yell-fest about the 'talking to feet and consequent event' issue.

And then, much to the surprise of the girls, they were summoned to the council of Elrond—on orders of Gandalf.  Mia reacted to this with panic; Rowan was a lot calmer.

"It's not like they're going to yell at us," said Rowan as they walked to where the Council was to take place.  "Except about the Randy thing."  Mia's response was to mutter in what sounded like Elvish.  "Mia, how are you doing that?  I _know_ you failed Spanish."

"I'm probably screwing it up and mixing up the languages," Mia agreed miserably as they met up with Frodo and Bilbo.  She smiled at the hobbits.  "But on the plus side, I know the difference between Quenya and Sindarin words."

"Have you been studying long?" Bilbo inquired.

"Two months, I think," said Mia offhandedly.  Rowan burst out laughing, finally realizing how Mia had failed Spanish, and had to take a moment to compose herself.  It didn't help that she was getting images of Mia accidentally greeting an elf in a mix of Quenya and Spanish.  Mia seemed to realize what Rowan was laughing about and glared angrily.  "Oh, stop, I've been practicing!"

"Really?"

"Yes!  _Lle auta_ _yeste_'."  Mia looked at the hobbits worriedly.  "Did I say that correctly?"

"If you meant to say 'you go first,' then yes you did," Frodo said with a smile.

"Yes!" Mia said, sighing with relief.  As an afterthought, "_Diola lle_."  (Thank you.)

"_Lle creso_."  (You're welcome.)

"Hmm, very impressive.  Not bad for two months work, _Vaca Chica_," Rowan mocked, drawing on her Spanish knowledge.  Which wasn't much—she'd taken French for the required language course of their school.

Mia sighed again.  "You just called me Cow Girl.  _And_ improperly."

"Whoops," Rowan said, grinning.  "Anyway, we should be going to the council now.  Would you kindly guide us, Mr. Baggins?"

"It would be my pleasure," Bilbo said happily.

~*~*~*~

Up until a certain point, the presumptions the girls had about the Council of Elrond had been followed.  Things had proceeded in an orderly fashion: Boromir told of his reasons for arriving at Rivendell, Bilbo recited his poem, and then Elrond revealed the return of the One Ring.  And then things went to pieces, with him saying that the Ring needed to be destroyed.

Everyone was in agreement about this fact.  However, they were not in agreement over _who_ should destroy the Ring.

Before the girls could blink, the entire council erupted into chaos, arguing about who should take the ring to be destroyed at Mount Doom.  Those not a part of the chaos were getting huge headaches, and becoming just a little exasperated with the proceedings.

Looking livid, Gandalf stood up.  "That is quite enough!" he shouted and the noise subsided a little.  "That is quite enough foolish yelling," he repeated and went on in a calmer manner.  "Now listen to me, all of you.  There is something you should know.  There are two possible futures for us to follow.  One in which the ring is destroyed and one in which it is not."  The council had fallen completely silent.  "Both myself and the dark forces of Mordor know this.  After all, it is only logical that the clearest paths are one of two ways."

"Yes," said Elrond.  "But how is this relevant?"

Rowan looked at him, suspecting that he already had an idea about what Gandalf was about to say.

"I am coming to that," Gandalf responded.  "Of late, it has come to my attention that a few weeks ago that the forces of Mordor had summoned a great evil out of the future that they envision for themselves.  To provide a counterattack to this occurrence, I myself summoned people from the future in which the ring had not been destroyed.  This help came in the forms of Mia and Rowan," Gandalf nodded at the girls, who looked a bit surprised.  "So no matter who goes, the girls will go with them."  Gandalf began to sit down again when Aragorn stood up.

"What of their male companion, Randy, that was lost at the Prancing Pony?" the Ranger asked.  Gandalf looked as if he had been caught off guard at the moment and the girls glanced at each other.  Aragorn spoke again.  "I did not see how he could have been any help at all.  The ladies did not even seem to want his company."

Mia had the grace to look sheepish at this statement, while Rowan merely tried not to smile.

"And," Aragorn went on, a bit reluctantly, "at our last sighting of him, he was among the Ringwraiths—who have somehow risen in number.  He was no prisoner and I am led to believe that he went to them willingly."

The council murmured amongst themselves upon hearing that statement.  The girls were about as flabbergasted (if not more) than the council—why would someone _want_ to go to the Nazgul?  And it was not as if Randy hadn't known what the Nazgul were.

"It is a possibility," said Gandalf after a moment, "that this boy could have been summoned by Mordor and was attempting to stop Mia and Rowan from ever reaching us.  Had luck not been with them, that possibility may have been reality."  The girls looked like they wanted to say something, but before they could, the wizard spoke again.  Rowan was starting to get annoyed.  "We will deal with this problem later but now we must decided who takes the ring to Mount Doom."

Once again, the chaos of earlier ensued.  The dwarves did not believe the elves should have it, the elves did not believe the dwarves should carry it, Bilbo offered, the humans were arguing, and Elrond actually looked like he was getting a headache.  And all the chaos did was worsen.

That was, until Frodo stood up.  "I will take the ring!" he shouted above all the others.  He had to shout this once more before all present heard him.  "I have already carried it this far—I shall continue with it."

Boromir and the dwarf, Gimli son of Gloin, gave Frodo a look that said, "So the little halfling has some guts, does he?"  On the other hand, Mia looked like she wanted to applaud.

"Well, then…" But before Gandalf could really start, Sam, Merry, and Pippin all popped out of hiding places at demanded to go with Frodo.  (Rowan and Mia glanced at each other, and proceeded to fight an attack of hysterical laughter.)

"Look," said Sam, "I'm going to stick by Mr. Frodo no matter what."  Merry and Pippin nodded in agreement.

"Well, then," Gandalf said again, smiling at the hobbits' boldness, "that makes six."

"We should have eleven to match the Black Riders of Mordor."

Rowan looked at Mia in time to see the other girl mouth 'eleven?!' while looking highly scandalized.  _Uh-oh_, Rowan thought and gave her friend a stern look.  They shrugged after a moment; both of them guessed that the help Mordor had summoned was a wraith from the future.  By the time they began to pay attention to the council again, the rest of the fellowship had already been chosen.  Boromir, Aragorn, Gimli, Legolas, and Gandalf.

The Fellowship of eleven—the members of chosen ahead of schedule.

Mia did _not_ look happy with this.

~*~*~*~

The next two days were spent getting ready for the journey.  And Rowan took some time out to yell at Mia for being so stubborn about things already changed.  While the calmer girl actually had a good point going for her, Mia's frustration with the lack of staying true to the book clouded her common sense.

"I don't _care_ if it still matches up!" Mia yelled.  "There were nine rings made for mortal men, which was insanely stupid since men always desire power, and now there are eleven?  It's getting insanely screwed up, _I'm_ losing track of the sacred story line, and to top all of that off, you're all tra-la-la!"

Rowan glared.  "I am _not_ all tra-la-la," she retorted, wishing she could cross her arms.  Trouble was, she had a bow with her, as it was practice time.  "I'm as worried as you but you can't keep having hysterical reactions every time something different occurs."

"I know," Mia said, still looking frustrated but not overly so.  She was calming down a little—very good sign.  "But honestly.  The not…usual parts of the story are starting to add up and I just don't like the result."

"You don't like math period."  Rowan snickered at Mia's offended look.  "Go find a hobbit to talk to.  And don't have a hysterical reaction unless you really need to."

Mia rolled her eyes as she walked off.  "Rowan, I was not having a hysterical reaction.  I was merely a bit upset."

"That's like saying Randy was a bit rude!"

"Whatever!" Mia called over her shoulder before she was finally out of shouting range.

_At least she didn't go hysterical,_ Rowan thought with a grin as she headed towards one of the archery fields at Rivendell.  (Supposedly, there was more than one but it wasn't as if she'd had time to go looking for all of them.)  If they were going to go on the journey to Mordor—staying true to 'sacred storyline' or otherwise—she ought to get some more practice hours in.

Upon arrival at the archery field, Rowan decided against the 'advanced' targets and went to the 'novice' area (as she and Mia had jokingly called them.)  "Nock, aim, fire!" Rowan muttered to herself as she followed through the instructions that the archery teacher'd drilled into the students daily.  The arrow flew and hit a little off center.  She shrugged to herself, drawing another arrow.  "Okay, if at first you don't succeed…"

"Rowan?"

"Yah!"  The next arrow went flying over the target and hit a tree.  _That was smart_! Rowan thought, turning to see the Prince of Mirkwood standing not five feet away.  _Ack!  Look at his face, look at his face…or at least, not your feet_.  "Oh.  Um."  She was off to a brilliant start.  "Hello, Prince Legolas."

Legolas smiled.  "Hello, Lady Aran."

"Whoa, whoa, don't call me that!" said Rowan, almost dropping her next arrow.  She'd suspected that someone would probably use a rather formal name sooner or later (hopefully much later) but did not want anyone to get into the habit.  "Not a noble from…anywhere here, in Middle-Earth."  That sounded about accurate.

"Ah.  Then I request that you drop the formal title with my name," said Legolas, moving to stand beside her on the field.  Rowan told herself this was pure coincidence—he had his bow and arrows, he probably wanted to do some practicing himself (as if he'd need it), and there was no other reason for it.  _Right?  Right_, Rowan assured herself.  "You appear to have good control over your weapon."

Rowan glanced at the bow in her hands.  "This?  Oh, well, I like archery and I…wanted to do well in the class."

"Class?"

_I don't think I want to explain this_…  "It's a long story," Rowan hedged and stifled a sigh of relief when Legolas dropped the subject.  "And I try to practice…for fun…" She fired another arrow and grinned when it hit the center of the target.

"Very nice," said Legolas, whipping an arrow out of his quiver and firing at another target.  That one hit dead center and even set the target to rattling.

Rowan's jaw dropped.  Reading about skills was one thing and seeing them was another.  "Whoa!  That was…_whoa_."  Great, now she was being inarticulate.  This wasn't a good development.  "I mean, that was fantastic, Legolas.  I can't even aim that quickly!"

"It grows easier with time," said Legolas, a bit sheepishly as he fired another arrow.  "And practice.  Which I suggest you get to."

"Right," smiled Rowan, doing just that.  She was definitely going to enjoy herself on this journey—provided that certain people didn't have hysteria attacks, certain wraiths stayed away, and certain elves continued to talk to her.  _Oh, yes, those are low standards_, thought Rowan just as she hit dead center.  "Whoa!"

"You see."

"Oh, yeah."

~*~*~*~

Once her brush with hysteria was definitely gone, Mia spent some of her time transferring her belongings from her backpack to a more appropriate traveling bag (explaining the logo had already taken enough time) and decided to spend the rest of the time wandering around Rivendell.  _But to where?_ Mia wondered and knew instantly not to go looking for Rowan.  She snickered.  _Rowan and Leggy sitting in…wait, that's no fun if no one's around to hear_.  Mia shrugged to herself and went to visit Frodo.  Just because she was wondering how he was.  Not because she liked him or anything.

"Frodo?"  Mia knocked on his door.

"Who's there?" he said.

"It's just me, Mia."

"Oh, well, come in if you like."

Mia entered his room to see Frodo packing his bag.  She wondered if Bilbo had already given his traveling things and spotted Sting.  Yep, Bilbo had been there.  _All right, now we need an opener to a conversation_…  "So…Frodo…looks like you're almost ready to go."

"I suppose so…" Frodo paused, mulling over something.  He turned to face her.  "Mia, where are you and your friend Rowan from?"

That caught Mia a bit off guard.  "Well…at first we told you that we came from across the sea, didn't we?" she asked and smiled ruefully when Frodo nodded.  "We did that because it was more believable than 'we just appeared here from the future.'  I don't think you or anyone else would have believed us, if not for Gandalf."

Frodo nodded.  "I suppose you're right."  He paused again.  "So, what's it like in your future, where the Ring has been destroyed?"

"Uhh…it's a lot more different.  Many things have changed…I don't know how exactly to explain it," Mia said with a wry smile.  "You have to remember that Rowan and I are from way off in the future (evidently) and I don't think you'd understand half of what I'm talking about.  Heck, sometimes people from our time don't even understand what we're talking about!"

"I'll try to remember that."  Frodo looked amused.  "Do people of your time still remember what happened her with the ring?"

_ACK_!  "Not everybody."  Did anyone _else_ know that it was not just a book?  Maybe someone did.  Mia decided to go with that theory and said, "Some people do, though."

"Oh…that's good, I suppose."  Frodo looked a bit melancholy as he said that.

Mia wondered how she would tell him that there were no hobbits (that anyone knew of) in the future.  She hoped he wouldn't ask, since she didn't think she would be able to lie.

"Will I live through this?" he suddenly asked.

_Eeeeeep_… Mia's mind short-circuited for a nanosecond.  "Er.  Normally I would be able to give you an answer but now with the newly summoned wraith and the whole Randy issue…with things changing…" She shrugged.  "I just don't know."

"Oh…" Frodo nodded.  "At least you would answer me if you could."  Somehow, he managed to phrase that as a simple statement, not the question that it was.

"I would and will do all I can to help you, Frodo…" Mia blushed at her boldness.  _Jeez, getting confident here, aren't we, Mia_?  "Well, I should leave the, um, area, now, really."

"It was nice talking with you, Mia," said Frodo, smiling at her.

Mia's mind short-circuited again, but she managed to say, quite pleasantly, "Same with you," and with that, she was gone.

~*~*~*~

The eve before the Fellowship was to depart, Elrond and Gandalf walked down the halls of Rivendell, discussing the path to Mordor.  At one point, Elrond paused and asked, "Gandalf, why did you insist that those girls go along?"

"Do you doubt their knowledge and skills?" returned Gandalf.

"No…but their knowledge of the future may cause problems."  Elrond shook his head.  "To meddle with time is a dangerous act, Gandalf.  You know that."  The wizard merely nodded.  "What would happen if they were to reveal something by accident or abstain from saying anything in a time of need?  What then?"

Gandalf merely smiled and said, "You say 'the' future.  There are many possible paths the future of any world can take…they are from one direction.  What Sauron's forces have summoned are from another."

"Then how did that boy arrive with them?  Surely it is no coincidence?"

"Coincidences do not exist, Lord Elrond.  They are all here for a reason."

Elrond nodded and then voiced a question he had been wondering about for a few days now.  "You originally meant to summon great warriors to aid in the Quest to destroy the One Ring.  I mean no offense to Rowan or Mia, but they do not seem like great warriors."

"Sometimes," said Gandalf, "other forces besides that of our world are at work."

And that was all he would say on the matter.

To Be Continued in Chapter Five: wherein the journey begins.  Question for the readers: what do you think Gandalf is not telling Elrond (or anyone else?)  Responses and commentary of any kind are welcome—just click on the little review button below, please!


	6. Chapter Five Mountains, Friends, and Ma...

When the Worlds Cross

By Heather and Jane

_Disclaimer_: Middle-Earth and its peoples belong to the great J.R.R. Tolkien.  Mia, Rowan, and Randy belong to us.  Any and all similarities to real life events/people are pure coincidence—unless they appear with permission (reason for this will come in a later chapter.)

_Summary_: The journey begins, a snowball is thrown, and a water creature rears its ugly head, in that order.  (And Sam learns why Mia should not be allowed to have a hissy fit.)

_Authors' Notes_: co-written between Jane and Heather, two Lord of the Rings fans that are trying to keep true to the story.  First part more movieverse than bookverse, but will soon go to bookverse.  Credit to Heather's father and our friend Wesley as story consultants.

Thanks for all the reviews.  And Andreah—here it is.

Enjoy.

Chapter Five

Mountains, Friends, and Mayhem

~*~*~*~

The next night, the Fellowship left Rivendell to begin the long trek to Mount Doom.  For the most part, they all got along.  There were only two problems— the first one being that elves and dwarves did not get along.  So Gimli and Legolas were not being particularly nice to each other.  The other was that Boromir did not like having the two girls along.  Not that the girls really had much love for Boromir anyway—they did _try_ to get along with him (well, Mia did and Rowan just ignored anyone who was bothering her) but nothing came of it.

"Might as well just give it up," Rowan muttered as they passed the 'three league' mark, according to Gandalf.  She didn't really care—their feet were going to hurt no matter how far they had been traveling.  "You know what happens."

Mia gave her a look.  "No, not exactly.  Anymore…things are different."

"Don't you dare have a hissy fit!"

"I was _not_ going to have a hissy fit!"

"What's a hissy-fit?" asked Sam, who had been listening to the conversation in puzzlement.  The two girls from another time were a constant source of puzzlement for the gardener and he was having no luck in figuring out what they were talking about half the time.

The girls exchanged glances, and Rowan said, "Remember when Mia was having a panic reaction after Weathertop?"  Sam nodded.  "Try imagining her angry while doing the exact same thing.  Exactly," said Rowan as Sam paled.  "Don't want that to happen.  Very bad to let her have a hissy fit…no one escapes unscathed."

Mia looked annoyed.  "I'm not that bad."

"Really?  We'll see," said Rowan, glancing down.  And then sighing.  "You're still wearing tennis shoes."

"_Walking_ shoes.  And, well…they're comfortable," snapped Mia at last, moving ahead by a few paces.  Rowan snickered and caught up with her.

Sam shook his head, _again_ wondering about the girls of the future.

And so began the journey.

They traveled with relative ease for some time, the days blending into each other, heading for a small mountain range called the Caradhras.  Merry and Pippin tried to liven the journey up at times, because they felt everyone was being more than a little depressing.  It took Mia a full day to explain exactly why not skipping around happily would work wonders for the success of the journey.  And even then, neither she nor Rowan was too sure about whether or not the hobbits got it.

As the Company drew nearer to the mountain range (and had a close encounter with spies from Mordor) Gandalf and Aragorn began to seem agitated.  Mia and Rowan knew exactly why the wizard and the ranger were not the happiest of campers.  A rather large dilemma lay before the Fellowship.  There were two ways to get to the other side of Caradhras.

Therein lay the problem.  One was to go over the mountain, a method Gandalf did not like.  He knew that the mountain did not let people pass very easily (the girls knew this too and didn't like the idea of an avalanche landing on everyone's head.)  The other way was to go through the mines of Moria, within the mountain, and Aragorn disliked the idea.  He said the mountains were supposed to be a cursed place and dissuaded Gimli, who wanted to go through the mines for obvious reasons.

While the wizard, men, and dwarf debated this (Legolas was keeping an eye out for more spies and the hobbits were doing something else) Rowan said, "Gandalf's not exactly hunky-dory about the mines of Moria either, is he?"

"There's a big honking demon creature under there," said Mia under her breath, also looking for spies.  Or possibly, a certain member of the Nazgul that the girls had not forgotten—though the Riders did not seem to have plans to pursue the Ringbearer any time soon.  Seeing nothing, she looked back at her friend.  "And anyone who pays attention to history here knows about it…dwarves delved too deep…Pippin, will you _stop_ trying to play King of the Mountain?"

_This is why you don't give hobbits a sword and tell them to amuse themselves for a moment_, Rowan thought, joining Mia in the endeavor to get Pippin to quit leaping around on the boulders.

The final decision for the moment was to try to pass over the mountain before the Fellowship went to Moria—everyone seemed hopeful that the mountain would allow them to pass over and they would not have to risk the mines.  Mia and Rowan both knew that going over the mountain would have been a bad idea but chose not to mention a thing to anyone.  Though they didn't discuss it at all, they had the same reason for not telling.  Perhaps something else would change and the passage through Moria would be all the more perilous.  Or perhaps it wouldn't.

They had no idea.  Therefore, events passed as the girls remembered them.  (And Mia was very happy about staying true to the sacred storyline.)

~*~*~*~

If mountains had wills, then Caradhras' was not to allow the Fellowship of Nine to pass.  This was made evident as they tried to climb up the mountain, which apparently attracted all clouds that held snow.  Mia gave up voicing her frustrations at snow falling down her back (as most of them would include obscene words) and stomped along through the rising snow banks, muttering.  Her shoes were for walking, _not_ for wading through the snow.

"Look, Mia and her comfort footwear are being all upset," Rowan teased, being the one with somewhat warmer feet.  Mia glowered at everyone in general.  "When you get frostbite, don't complain."

"Ha-ha."  A clump of snow toppled onto them and both reacted with a yelp.

"All right?" Legolas called from up ahead.

"More or less," replied Rowan, hurrying along and brushing the snow from her hair.

Mia followed, muttering, "Elf can dance about on snow.  Elf not so bothered by snow.  Mia not at all happy with said elf.  If elf walks on snow, will retaliate."  A puzzled Merry looked at her but she added nothing to that.

As the group started to climb higher, it became all the more evident that the mountain did not want them to pass.  They practically became entrapped by the snow, as it was.  Once they realized this, they all knew they would have to go back and go through Moria.

Boromir, Aragorn, and Gimli started to tunnel a way of the wall of snow, as Legolas walked on top of it, helping them.  The hobbits were practically freezing, and Gandalf told the girls to make sure that everyone stayed walking.  "Translated," said Rowan, helping Sam pull Bill the Pony along, "make sure no one keels over or suffers from hypothermia before we get to a warmer area."

"Hypo-what?" asked Frodo.

"Something that happens when you're in the cold for too long."

Sam shivered.  "I think we're coming close to that!"

"No kidding, Samwise.  Argh.  I am _so_ jealous of the elves," Mia said snarkily as she tried to get an icicle out of her hair and glared at Legolas at the same time.

"Oh, Mia, shut it."  Even Rowan was getting cranky.

"Shut it?  How nice."  The slightly taller girl muttered again (something not too complimentary) and got back to moving.

Legolas half turned.  "Hurry!" he called to them.

"Hurry?  Oh, that is _it_."  Before anyone could ask what she meant, Mia grabbed a handful of snow, packed it together, and before anyone could stop her, threw it in Legolas' direction.  It actually scored a hit and she ducked beneath the snowdrift as he turned around, looking puzzled.

Rowan groaned.  "Nice maturity, there."

"Shh!" hissed Mia, glancing up nervously.  Frodo and Sam were staring at her, while the other two were laughing despite the freezing cold.  She smiled at them briefly and then went back to frowning at Rowan.  "And it's your fault—you're the one who introduced me to the guy who taught me how to throw hackey-sacks!"

"And you applied that to _snowballs_?"

"Uh, yeah?"

If it hadn't been so cold, Rowan might have attempted smacking Mia upside the head.  "Agh!"

"They're getting more'n'more interestin' all the time," Merry muttered to Pippin.

"And funnier too!"

~*~*~*~

The Fellowship finally got back down from the mountain, and as the Gap of Rohan was too close to Isengard (where Saruman the bad wizard lived) the only route left to them was to go through the mines of Moria.  The only person who was happy about this was Gimli, since he'd been harping on choosing the route through Moria half of the journey.  Of course, he had no idea what was coming and the girls had decided not to tell certain things of the story.

_After all,_ thought Mia as they approached the mines, _no sense in getting everyone hyped up for a battle we're not even sure will happen and then there's the whole telling the end thing that I have a problem with_…

"The walls of Moria!" said Gimli as the company stopped, startling Mia out of her reverie and making Rowan frown absently at the great walls.

The only way in was through the west gate.  And once they got in, shadows awaited them.

No cause for celebration.

As they approached the gates under the cover of night and a few clouds, Gandalf told Sam that it was time to let Bill go, as the mines of Moria were no place for pony.  Sam was reluctant to let Bill go, and Mia felt sorry for him—she hadn't liked Bill's leaving in the books and certainly didn't like it now.

"How are we to enter Moria?" asked Merry, staring at the walls.  "I do not see any doors."

Gandalf glanced to the sky and saw the cloud cover parting.  "Look now!" he said once the moon was showing her face.  "Can you see anything?"

When the Company looked, they could see lines of a silver light upon the stone, which grew brighter as the moon's light grew stronger.  "Now," said Gandalf, smiling.  "Can anyone tell me what it is?"

"_Ithildin_," said Mia immediately.  "Reflects only starlight and moonlight."

Gimli looked at her.  "And just how did _you_ know that?"

"I read about it," the human girl replied, sitting down on rock.

"Of course," Rowan muttered.

"How are we to get in?" Gimli asked, turning to Gandalf.  "The word to open the Gates has long since been forgotten.  Do you know it, Master Wizard?"

Gandalf said, "No."  He waited for everyone to stop muttering or staring at him (or in the case of the girls, laughing) and added, "The word will come to me…I know many spells and many phrases, and the doors will open on a command in the Elvish tongue.  After all, the inscription there says '_speak friend and enter_.'"  He indicated the spot with his staff before pointing said staff at the doors and shouting in Elvish.

Nothing happened.

"_La palabra es amigo_," Mia muttered, covering her grin with her hand.

"Shush."  Rowan frowned at her, correctly guessing that the Spanish phrase had something to do with the word being 'friend.'

Some moments passed, much of them filled with Gandalf muttering and pushing at the doors before he finally sat down to contemplate.  Mia watched Sam and Aragorn release Bill, and then turned her eyes to Boromir.  He had just thrown a stone into the pool, in an effort to release tension.  Not the best of moves.

"I wouldn't do that!" she said.

Boromir looked at her.  "If you're so _smart_, why don't you tell us how to open the Gates?" he said, half sneering.

"The same way Bilbo escaped a certain cave," Mia drawled.  "How about that, sir?"  Frodo looked at her, then back at the Gates, seemingly thoughtful.  _Whoops_, Mia thought.

Rowan smacked her forehead.  "You might as well have put up a big, old _neon sign_!"

"Aha!" said Gandalf (who had been ignoring them) as he stood.  "I have it.  _Mellon_."  The Gates opened.  Everyone stared at the wizard as he smiled at them.  "It was a riddle—too simple a riddle for a suspicious mind."

Feeling relieved that the wait was over, the Fellowship walked towards the opening.  Suddenly, Frodo cried out and Mia turned around to see a tentacle pulling Frodo to the pool.  "Frodo!" she yelled, at the same time Sam yelled, "Strider!"

"Mia!  Down!" snapped Rowan, drawing her bow.

_Oh, boy, party time_.  Mia ducked, heard a few things fly over her head, and saw Sam hack at the tentacle that had Frodo.  It let go but then more appeared out of the water, writhing like a ton of snakes.  She gulped and scrambled to her feet, moving away from the archers and helping Sam pull Frodo into the mines.

"Quickly!  Move!" Gandalf cried, though he need not have.  All of the Fellowship had run into the mines, including the wizard, and he was now turning, looking at the doors as if to close them.

The tentacles suddenly grabbed the doors and pulled inward, closing them with a series of loud thuds and crashes.

Darkness fell upon them.

TBC – in Chapter Six, wherein the journey through Moria takes place and so does one of our least favorite scenes.  Possibly posted tomorrow, pending revision…  Jane: Has anyone else seen the Two Towers preview? *grin* 'Tis awesome…

Anyway, let us know what you think by clicking on the little box below and leaving a review.  Ta!


	7. Chapter Six The Mines

When the Worlds Cross

By Heather and Jane

_Disclaimer_: Middle-Earth and its peoples belong to the great J.R.R. Tolkien.  Mia, Rowan, and Randy belong to us.  Any and all similarities to real life events/people are pure coincidence—unless they appear with permission (reason for this will come in a later chapter.)

_Summary_: The Mines of Moria chapter – all the fun stuff.  (Or not so fun, depending on how you take it.

_Authors' Notes_: co-written between Jane and Heather, two Lord of the Rings fans that are trying to keep true to the story.  First part more movieverse than bookverse, but will soon go to bookverse.  Credit to Heather's father and our friend Wesley as story consultants.

Additional notes – we paraphrase quotes from Buffy the Vampire Slayer twice in this chapter (we think) and have borrowed a word from the show Red Dwarf.

Andreah – mas impaciente, no?  Calmate, por favor.

Chapter Six

The Mines

~*~*~*~

Blackness.  A complete darkness that seemed to be a living thing—not that it bothered Rowan very much.  Someone made a sort of panicked bleating noise and Rowan was fairly certain she knew who it was.  Then Gandalf took his staff and made a bit of light so they could see their way.

"We must be careful," he told the nervous Fellowship, "it is a four day journey through the mines.  Let us hope that our presence go unnoticed, as there are fouler creatures than Orc down here."

While the entire Fellowship seemed to be less than happy campers, the girls from the future were probably the least happy.  While Rowan was getting worried gut feelings about the flesh and blood monsters that awaited them, Mia was frightened for a completely different reason.  Her reason was a personal monster that she usually called a phobia of caves and the dark.  Or rather, what could be lurking in the dark.

And in the mines of Moria, things lurked there and not even the Tolkien-expert could remember every thing that might pop out of the shadows.

As they progressed through the mines, Mia grabbed a random hand, keeping her eyes trained on the light.  She probably should have looked, but it wasn't like there was going to be any problem—

"Who's holding my hand?"

_Whups_.  Mia wondered if she was blushing.  "Sorry, Frodo!"

"No, it's all right," said the slightly bewildered Ringbearer, "but why—"

Rowan stifled a laugh as the two began a whispered conversation, and felt sorry that Mia had the presence of mind to keep her voice down low.  "Oh, yeah, _sure_," the other girl muttered, rolling her eyes.

Legolas looked at her, puzzled.  "What—"

_Okay, here's a rock and hard place_.  Rowan shrugged, mumbling something about Mia having Orc issues.  True enough story, and it kept a certain book-whacking girl from getting angry.  _Provided that Legolas doesn't ask anymore_! Rowan thought with a sudden touch of alarm.

Luckily, Legolas decided against pursuing the subject of 'issues,' and instead asked, "Do you expect to find anything worse than Orcs in this place?"

"Call me optimistic, but I hope to find the secret entrance to Narnia," Rowan replied, a tad sarcastically.  "Yes, I am expecting that!"

"_Ai_!  You and Mia have a penchant for being sarcastic?"

"She does.  I don't.  That was just to answer a rhetoric question and I'll be going over there."  Rowan pointed to a spot three feet ahead, making good on her statement.  Gimli gave her a puzzled look, but all she did was smile at him.

Soon, the Fellowship came to a three-way intersection of passages.  Gandalf had no idea where to go and for the life of them, neither Mia nor Rowan could remember the exact tunnel themselves.  Everyone settled down to rest while Gandalf pondered the direction to take.

Though some decided that 'resting' could get a tad bit boring after a while.

"Go talk to him," Mia hissed, poking Rowan and nodding at Legolas.  Rowan gave her a dirty look, not appreciating the statement in the least.  "Oh, come on—I wanna know how to kill Orcs."

"Shoot them, duh," Rowan said, rolling her eyes.

Mia glared.  "Um…_hello_?!"

"Hi?" Sam offered.

Rowan ignored him in favor of smirking evilly at Mia.  "Oh, right, you can't use a bow worth beans."

"Thanks _ever_ so."

Merry and Pippin snickered until Mia gave them a look.

"Okay, okay, fine.  I'll go," Rowan said, getting up and walking over to Legolas.  "But only because I want to, too."

"Yeah, I was kind of counting on that one," Mia said under her breath.

~*~*~*~

Legolas heard footsteps, and turned slightly.  "Are you as worried about Orcs as I am, Rowan?" he asked with a smile.

Rowan smiled back, shrugging a little.  "More or less…though don't the elves usually call them…"  Good grief, she'd asked Mia and shouldn't she remember it?  _Come on, I know I know this…aha_.  "…_Yrch_?"  _At least I'm pronouncing it right,_ Rowan thought absently, vaguely recalling a Randy-Mia argument a few months ago (or was it longer now?) on correct Elvish pronunciation.

"Indeed, but I doubt that everyone is as knowledgeable in the elven tongue as you and your friend," replied Legolas, still smiling.

_Good grief, does he know I had to double-check_?  He probably suspected it.  "The two words sound alike," said Rowan after a too long beat.  "More or less…I can't see anyone missing the meaning, really."

"Especially if it is a battle cry," Legolas agreed, nodding.

"Yeah, can't imagine anyone missing it then."

They both paused, probably realizing the conversation was to forget worries about Orcs and other fearsome things that might await them, and glanced at each other.  Then Rowan asked, "What's it like in Mirkwood?" in an innocent tone…

…quite forgetting that Mia had advised her not to ask an elf about what their homes were like.

~*~*~*~

As per to the fact that Mia's back was to them and she knew that Rowan would yank out her ribcage if any spying was done, she asked Merry and Pippin to tell her what was going on.  "Why don't you just turn around?" asked Pippin.

"'Cause Rowan will yank out my ribcage and wear it as a hat if I do," Mia replied offhandedly.

The two hobbits blanched.  "Really?"

"That was sarcasm and exaggeration.  She would be mad enough to do so," Mia said, grimacing.  Then she smiled hopefully.  "So, can you tell me what's going on?"

Even after ten minutes, all Merry and Pippin could discern was that Rowan and Legolas were doing a whole lot of talking and nothing.  Mia had more or less expected that and figured that was enough 'spying', so she changed the subject and let them babble on about their favorite pranks.  (Filing the information away for further reference, of course.)

Frodo left at one point to talk to Gandalf, so Mia immediately started looking for Smeagol, who she knew had to be lurking around there somewhere.  _Rowan will totally go bananas if she knows I'm still calling Smeagol by his given name…heck, didn't RANDY go bananas when I insisted on doing that_? she thought, squinting into the darkness.

Of course, Smeagol spotting was not to be her career, as per to the facts that it was far too dark and Gandalf suddenly stood, saying, "It's that way!"

"You've remembered?" Merry inquired, getting up.

"No, the air doesn't smell so foul down that way," said Gandalf, sounding pleased.

"Follow the nose, eh?" Rowan quipped, heading back over to where Mia and the hobbits were sitting, since she'd dumped her pack there.

"Sounds like.  How did it go?" Mia asked perkily, getting to her feet.  "Actually look at his face this time?"

Rowan's response was immediate.

"Ow!"  Mia rubbed her shoulder, frowning as Gandalf led them through the tunnel into the caverns filled with pillars and archways.  Her jaw dropped at the sight (and she felt relived that it was now lighter) and she said, "Gimli, or Gandalf, please correct my pronunciation if it's wrong…isn't this Dwarrowdelf?"

"Indeed it is," said Gandalf.

_How _does_ she do that_? Rowan wondered.

For a time, the eleven of them walked through the city silently, almost afraid to speak louder than a whisper.  If either of the future-girls had been in the mind to compare, they might have likened the city to an immense cathedral.  But before anyone could start making comparisons, Gandalf led them down a northern path, and then into a room where a single shaft of light shone on a large stone.

"'Here lies Balin son of Fundin, Lord of Moria,'" Gandalf read, almost missing Pippin's poking around.  "Ah."

"Something's not right here," Mia hissed at Rowan.  The comment got a frown.  "I'm serious."

Pippin touched a skeleton that sat on the side of a well, and it toppled over, creating a series of crashes and bangs as it fell.

"See, _that_ should have happened either a few days ago or somewhere else," Mia said.

Rowan shook her head, not understanding.  The other girl decided to leave it go for the moment, and looked towards the doors as Gandalf started his 'fool of a Took' rant.  _If Pippin hadn't knocked something over, I might have,_ Mia thought, _just to create some noise_—

Legolas suddenly looked around.  "What's that?" he said.

All were quiet.  Soon the sounds of distant, rhythmic beats could be heard.

"They are coming," Gandalf said quietly.

The beating was getting louder.  Boromir and Aragorn ran to the door, nearly getting hit by an Orcish arrow in their efforts to bar it.  Rowan turned in time to see the blood drain from Mia's face.  _Oh, jeez.  Not now_.  She grabbed her friend's arm and said, "Just do it, Mia.  You did it before!"

"There's a slight difference between kicking people and knifing Orcs!" Mia protested, drawing one of the two long daggers she'd chosen as weapons.  (Her using a sword had caused a reaction of her falling over.)  "And…okay, I'll do it, but I have to say this."

"What?"

"They have a cave troll!" Boromir shouted.

"We are doomed!" Mia groaned, not in the least bit sarcastic.

_I may just hurt you for that one_! Rowan thought, nocking an arrow and firing it at the first Orc she saw.  She missed her target by about four inches and got its arm.  _Okay, fire again!  Yes!  Thank…CAVE TROLL_!  She fired again.  And again.

While Rowan had been in the middle of firing, Mia had raced into the melee and come face to face with an Orc.  "Uck," Mia said, and did the first thing she could think of.  Of course, trying to pull a karate kick and then follow it with a stabbing wasn't the best of plans and the Orc backed her into a corner, seemingly taking its time.  It had a really disgusting grin on its face too.

_Wait.  I may be a girl, but that doesn't mean I can't kick some ORC BUTT_!  Mia lunged forward with the dagger and got it in the face.  And then the throat, and that lunge actually sent her to the ground.  _Ack_! she thought, getting to her feet immediately and taking in the surrounding battle (their side was winning) before charging on again.

The battle in Balin's Tomb went on fiercely, cries of fear and battle cries mingling together.  Aragorn sliced at a leader orc, just as the cave troll stabbed Frodo with a large spear.

Mia let out a shriek and would have run to turn the troll into shish kebab, had Legolas not fired the death arrow into the troll.  And Rowan stumbled over the Orc corpses to shove her.

"That's not what I needed!" Mia snapped.

"Save your bickering for later.  Run for it!" Gandalf shouted.

Aragorn picked up Frodo as they ran out (and Legolas _did_ have to drag Gimli out, much to Mia's surprise) but soon stopped in surprise.  "I thought you were dead!" Aragorn cried.

"He's alive?" Merry said.

"Obviously," said Rowan, shooting Mia a look.  The look got a shrug in return.  "Gandalf, can we keep running?"

"A moment," he told her.

For once, Rowan was the one who nearly had a hissy fit.  "A _moment_!  Does no one remember what just happened?" she demanded.  Those who listened (one hobbit and one teenage girl) shrugged in response.  "And don't look at me like that, Mia, I know you know what—"

"Yes," Mia interrupted.  "Yes, I remember but—"

There was a distant booming, and fire seemed to race along the archways in the distance.  Noises that Rowan had figured to be the Orc army suddenly quieted.  _Oh, crap_, she thought calmly, exchanging a panicked look with Mia.

"—but I wish I didn't," Mia finished in a whisper, turning slowly.

It would have been a stretch to say who looked the most worried at the sight of the advancing flames and darkness—Gandalf or one of the two girls.

"_Ai_!"

_You can say that again_, thought Rowan.

"What new devilry is this?" exclaimed Boromir.

"A Balrog," said Gandalf, leaning on his staff.  He looked at the girls.  "Has the future given anything on defeating this?"

"Only advice we have is to run like hell!" Rowan exclaimed.

"And pray!"

"We will—" Boromir began.

"No, this is a fight beyond your abilities," said Gandalf while Rowan jabbed Mia's side.  (She'd been ready to smack Boromir.)  "I will hold it back…but.  We must run!"

They ran, across the narrow Bridge of Khazad-Dum (Mia wondered if she was praying aloud or hearing things again) and Gandalf stood alone against the Balrog.  He won but at too great a price—the Balrog's whip grabbed him and he fell into shadow.

"Fly, you fools!"

Fly they did, and finally made it back into the light, where no Orcs could find them.  The Fellowship finally had time to grieve—and Mia the softhearted would have told them, had Rowan not said, "Don't spoil the whole thing.  Not even as a comfort.  They'll insist on staying."

"Fat lotta good that'd do," Mia hissed, looking misty-eyed.  It was a wonder that she'd kept watching.  "With Orcs around!"

"Exactly," Rowan agreed, feeling shaken herself.  There was such a difference between reading of something and actually seeing it happen.  "So shut up."

Mia glared and walked over to Frodo.  She didn't say anything, merely touched his shoulder hesitantly.  He looked up at her, and held her gaze for a few moments.

_Wonder what's going on,_ Rowan absently, as Aragorn said, "We must leave this place, to tend to wounds and grief in safer areas.  Ladies, can you walk?"

Oh, what a question!  "Hmm, let me think.  I feel like a guy on a Harley dragged me for fifty miles over mountainous country—" They all stared (minus Mia, who was laughing despite herself.)  Rowan sighed.  "Yes, I can walk!"

"What's a Harley?" Pippin asked Mia as they left the gate to Moria.

Mia blinked.  And sighed.  "How the smeg do I explain that one?" she murmured.

"What's 'smeg?'"

"Oh, look, an obvious distraction!" Mia said, pointing and then starting to jog down the mountain.

Pippin frowned.  "But—hey!"

To Be Continued – in Chapter Seven, where they enter Lothlorien and the girls get a most disturbing vision…


	8. Chapter Seven Woods of Lothlorien

When the Worlds Cross

By Heather and Jane

_Disclaimer_: Middle-Earth and its peoples belong to the great J.R.R. Tolkien.  Mia, Rowan, and Randy belong to us.  Any and all similarities to real life events/people are pure coincidence—unless they appear with permission (reason for this will come in a later chapter.)

_Summary_: The Woods of Lothlorien, where visions dance in their heads and Gimli acts stubborn—of course.

_Authors' Notes_: co-written between Jane and Heather, two Lord of the Rings fans that are trying to keep true to the story.  First part more movieverse than bookverse, but will soon go to bookverse.  Credit to Heather's father and our friend Wesley as story consultants.

Additional notes – we paraphrase a quote from a _Buffy the Vampire Slayer_ episode here too.  And beg forgiveness for not posting sooner, because of personal reasons, but rest assured.  The story will (most likely) be fully posted before Two Towers comes out.

Chapter Seven

Woods of Lothlorien

~*~*~*~

The first night away from Moria, while nearly everyone else spent the night in an uneasy sleep or on guard, Mia could not sleep thanks to nightmares involving the dark, Gandalf's fall, nine fingers (_thank you SO much, Smeagol_), and Randy the Ringwraith attacking.  The nightmares became worse when Darth Maul showed up (though why Mia's second favorite villain would show up, she had no idea) and she woke up for the second time in an hour.

_Oh, forget this_! Mia thought in exasperation, deciding to stay up for a while.  That usually got the sleeping job done.  She sat up slowly, startling Frodo.  _Whoops, didn't know he was awake_!  She half-smiled at him.  "Morpheus run away screaming 'nyah nyah nyah'?"

"Pardon?"

"Can't get to sleep?" Mia translated dryly.  What was the point of taking a classic mythology class if she couldn't reference it?

Frodo said simply, "I have this watch.  And I do not want to sleep."  He paused.  "Did you know that would happen?"

A plethora of panicked phrases went through Mia's head before she said, "Do you want a lie or the truth?"  _Oh, what was that_? her inner self yelled.  _That's telling him that you knew all along anyway_…  She ignored that voice—it didn't necessarily mean she'd known all along, really.

"Neither."  Frodo paused, and in a quieter voice, said, "If you did, could…"

"No, Frodo," Mia shook her head.  "It could not have been prevented.  I am sorry."  She tilted her head back and stared up at the sky, wondering about the disasters that could have occurred had she or Rowan told about the upcoming events.

"Are you having trouble sleeping as well?" Frodo said after a moment.

"Yes.  Nightmares."

Frodo had an idea of what about, since he recalled her admission of her fear of darkness, and looked at her for a moment.  But all he said was, "I hope they do not trouble you anymore."

"As do I," Mia muttered.

They sat in silence until Mia fell asleep sitting up and the next watch people were awakened.  (Some very reluctantly, of course.)  After stifling a yawn, Rowan said to Frodo, "Didn't I say she'd wake up?" before shoving Mia into a better sleeping position.  (_"The sky is fallin'—zzz."_)  She frowned at her friend.  "Since when did she become Chicken Little?" she remarked absently, and looked at the Ringbearer.  "Get some sleep, Mr. Frodo."

The hobbit nodded and went to see if he could get some sleep.  Rowan wandered over to the edge of the campsite and peered out into the dark land.  _There are no Balrogs on the surface,_ she told herself firmly.  _Right_?  She shook her head.  "For Pete's sake, Mia's the one who's afraid of the dark," she muttered.

"The dark and demons are different two different things," Legolas' voice said.

Rowan jumped slightly.  "Legolas, I'd appreciate if you _didn't_ give me heart attacks at this time of night," she whispered.

"Pardon my startling you.  The future truly has no way to deal with such demons?" Legolas asked, moving to stand with her.

"If they do, they forgot to tell me."  Rowan reminded herself to meet his eyes.  (It _would_ be the girls' luck to be fond of men that so differed from them in height!)  Surprisingly, it was easier to meet the elf's eyes now.  _Probably because of the fact that we all had a near death experience recently_.  No reason to be shy.  "There aren't a lot of demons in our time, though."

"Then perhaps they sleep deep underground or have all been vanquished," Legolas said cheerfully.

"Or have been moved to lie dormant in the hearts of men," Rowan muttered.  Legolas glanced at her but she shook her head.  They were already depressed enough without her adding in the upsetting facts about the future.  They didn't have demons with horns, fires, and substance of shadows—they had demons that pretended to be normal humans.

_Don't start thinking down that path,_ Rowan told herself.  _You'll end up like Mia who worries about everything and is scared of the dark_!

She wondered where the Ringwraiths were.

~*~*~*~

In the morning, nobody talked much, except to make sure that they were all safe and sound.  The saddened fellowship moved on until they came to a river in a golden forest, which made most of the Company feel some measure of relief.   Of course, the dwarf was not one of those people.  Gimli had been talking about how it was a wood haunted by an evil woman, saying that all dwarves were warned against ever going there.  "Once she looks at you, you're caught under her spell," he warned the hobbits gruffly.  Merry gulped.  "You should be nervous, young hobbit."

Legolas shook his head.  "I do not agree," he said, frowning at Gimli and moving away from the dwarf.  "I do not agree at all."

"Me either.  Haunted forest indeed," Rowan jibed Gimli.  Mia rolled her eyes.  "Perhaps the dwarf puts too much into superstition."

Gimli snorted and moved on ahead.

Mia tapped Rowan's shoulder.  "Rowan, don't tease the dwarf."

"Why?  Can he hurt me?"

"_Yes_!"

"Oh."

This sent Merry and Pippin into (thankfully) quiet hysterics, with even Frodo smiling.  Rowan let out a huff and moved ahead, while Mia tried to get her hobbit friends to shut up.  "Remember the ribcage hat," she reminded them, and they shut up instantly.

"Would she really do that?" Sam asked, bewildered.

"Don't risk it," Pippin told him.

~*~*~*~

Once they had crossed the river, it was already night again and Legolas offered to climb a tree to see where they were.  Aragorn agreed with that idea, while Rowan tried to calculate how high the closest branch was.  Pretty far up, Rowan finally decided.

Just as Legolas was jumping for the branch, they all heard an elvish voice come from the tree.

"What do they say?" Boromir asked Legolas, who was listening closely.

"Okay, I think I _have_ mentioned I barely got past how to say proper thank yous," Mia hissed to Merry and Pippin, who were pestering her with similar questions.

"They say they could hear us coming from a mile away in the dark but have no fear, they know of our journey and bid us come up," Legolas replied as a ladder dropped down.  All climbed up except Gimli, for dwarves do not like elves.

Once everyone was up the tree, the Lorien elves told the Company (those present and in the tree, anyway) that the hobbits could sleep with them on the loft they had on the tree, as well as the ladies.  (Rowan jabbed Mia in the ribs to keep her from smiling too much at that one.)  The rest of them including the dwarf could sleep in the next tree, as long as Legolas took full responsibility for the dwarf.

_Sotto voce_, Mia said to Rowan, "And I know who wants responsibility for the—_OW_!  D'ya _HAVE_ to keep hitting me?!"  She rubbed at her ribs indignantly.  "Honestly, it's like being in a Three Stooges show," she grumbled.

"But you're not funny," Rowan told her.

"I'm tired.  Sue me."

Late in the night, Mia awoke to the sound of movement.  _Great, can't I EVER get any normal sleep these days?_ she moaned inwardly, noticing that Rowan was sleeping like a baby.  _I'm not even a light sleeper_!  She turned over, so as to not face the sound sleepers, and saw Frodo looking down the trunk of the tree they were in.

For a moment, Mia wondered if the hobbit was trying to get a bad case of vertigo and then remembered what was down there.  He must have heard something too—and she knew exactly what that was.  Not an Orc they had passed without incident but another creature entirely.  Although Frodo only suspected, Mia knew it was Gollum.

_So Smeagol's still alive,_ Mia thought, propping herself up on one elbow.  _That's all right_.  She wondered again where the wraiths were—and more specifically, what Randy was up to.  _He knows what's supposed to happen…and if he's gone bad, he's gonna try to do something bad…to be insanely obvious_.  She started to say something, in hopes of distracting Frodo, but Haldir came up just then and distracted the Ringbearer from the search for Gollum.

Mia laid back down, knowing nothing else of interest would come of this night.  _Unless I have another one of my_ Star Wars _crossed nightmares_, she thought, and dropped off to a relatively dreamless sleep.

~*~*~*~

The Company and the Lorien elves set out early the next morning—too early for the very sleepy Rowan.  Soon they came to the banks of the swift moving river Celobrant.  There were no bridges across the river, as a safety measure of the land.  A young elf approached on the other side.  Haldir cast him a few ropes the elves made for the company to pass on.

"Ropes.  We're going to…oh, suddenly I remember why I didn't go on the slide when I was in grade school," Mia muttered, staring at the ropes.  Rowan frowned at her, wondering where this came from.  "What?  I used to be afraid of heights!"

Rowan rolled her eyes.  "Heights, the dark, demons…good grief, is there _anything_ else that you're afraid of?"

"Well, possibly flimsy bridges," Mia replied.

Before anyone could say anything to her (and it looked as if Pippin were about to say something), Haldir spoke up, while holding up a hand.  "The dwarf must be blindfolded," he said sternly.

"Blindfolded!"

Rowan knew what problem this would cause so she stepped back and spoke to Aragorn, who looked slightly concerned.  "Aragorn…?"

"Is there a problem you have, Lady Rowan?"

"Not me, personally.  I just think the easiest way to solve the problem of Gimli not wanting to be blindfolded would be if we were all blindfolded."

"Good idea, Lady Rowan."  He spoke a little louder to the rest of the company.  "I do not see fair to single out the dwarf.  So we shall all walk blindfolded."

Mia made a face at that one.  "Walking around in the dark and across a rope bridge.  Oh, yay."  Sam patted her arm sympathetically.

Legolas shook his head indignantly.  "_All_ of us blindfolded," he said, in a near grumble.

Rowan blinked slightly as he walked off.  "Seems to me that he's off for an elf sulk," Mia commented, grinning wickedly.  "Go fix the story."  She shoved Rowan.  "Go for it, girl!"

"Mi-ia!"

Mia just made a shooing motion and, exasperated, Rowan walked over to Legolas.  She thought a second and said, "No offense, but you're kind of acting…er…childish."  The Prince of Mirkwood frowned at her, but she didn't back down.  "Come _on_, Legolas.  It is fair—and you're starting to look really silly to everyone back there."

Legolas sighed, glanced at the golden woods around them, and then said, "I suppose that if I agree, Mia will keep her insufferable jokes to a low?"

"Since she'll be in a panic, most likely."

"All right then."

"I heard that!" Mia complained as they returned.

Rowan frowned at her.  "You did not!"

"Yeah, well…I wondered if there was something that you guys didn't want me to hear."  The girls frowned at each other before the Company was blindfolded.  _At least I fixed something that could have gone badly_, Rowan thought—and wondered how many other close calls there had been.

~*~*~*~

That evening, the Fellowship arrived at the Cerin Amroth, where their blindfolds were removed and their eyes consequently dazzled by the beauty of Lothlorien.  Although Rowan and Mia had read about Lothlorien many times and dreamed of being there once or twice, they could not believe their eyes.  It was more beautiful than either of them had imagined.

"Can you believe this place?" Rowan wondered aloud as they followed their guides.

"I almost feel like I'm reading the book again," Mia murmured, in the same awed tone.

On towards dusk, the remaining Fellowship finally came to the city of Galadrim, and Rowan heard Mia muttering about not having a camera.  The company climbed the stairs of the massive tree that made the city.  Upon a high _talan_ was a large hill, and in this hill sat Lord Celeborn and Lady Galadriel.

They spoke of many things, the most touching of which was Gandalf's passing.

Following what the story had said.  At least Mia was pleased.

As they were parting for the night, Galadriel gave them all one last long look in the eyes.  Another thing that paralleled what had happened in the books—save for one thing that had the girls from the future exchanging frightened looks as they walked away from the high _talan_.

That night, the hobbits talked of what they had seen in Galadriel's eyes in their room.  So too did Rowan and Mia, but their visions were not as 'pleasant' as those the others had experienced.

"Okay, Mia, we both know we saw something when she looked at us.  What I saw was not what I expected to see," Rowan told Mia.

"I don't think it was supposed to be," the other girl pointed out.  "Remember how in the book most did not talk about what they saw."

"That's true.  So…what did they see?"

Mia rolled her eyes.  This was what came of being the local book expert.  _Everyone_ wanted answers that were fairly obvious.  She sat back against the wall.  "The book says that they all saw something they would rather have than be on this quest," she said.  "While never exactly specifying what each one of them saw…  But that's not what I saw when Galadriel looked at me."

"Me neither."  Rowan glanced out at the Lothlorien woods, and then at her friend.  "I'll tell you what I saw…it's more like what would happen to Middle Earth if we left right now."

"I think that's what I saw."  Mia looked at the floor, frowning slightly.  "Danger, pain, death, a lot of volcanoes, oddly…and the Orcs running around as if they owned the place.  Also plent of other ugly creatures."  She looked up.  "You know what that means, right?"

"That since we've been here, something's changed," said Rowan, feeling as if she were stating the obvious.  "I think I know what it is."  Mia gave her an inquisitive look.  "It's Randy."

Mia shook her head.  "But the Nazgul got Randy back in Bree…"

"Yes, they did, they got him all right.  Right up working beside them."  Rowan made a small face at the memory of Randy's attack.

"But if he is with the…" Mia shivered slightly, remembering her worry from the other night.  "He knows what happens and when…"

"So the story has changed," Rowan said, "and we have to stay to keep it balanced!"

Both of the girls sat in silence, thinking about this revelation and what to do now that they knew.

To Be Continued in Chapter Eight—the Breaking of the Fellowship (not chapter title, btw).


	9. Chapter Eight Goodbye Gifts

When the Worlds Cross

By Heather and Jane

_Disclaimer_: Middle-Earth and its peoples belong to the great J.R.R. Tolkien.  Mia, Rowan, and Randy belong to us.  Any and all similarities to real life events/people are pure coincidence—unless they appear with permission (reason for this will come in a later chapter.)

_Summary_: Goodbye to the woods and the Breaking of the Fellowship.  Also, Mia gets hit a lot.

_Authors' Notes_: co-written between Jane and Heather, two Lord of the Rings fans that are trying to keep true to the story.  First part more movieverse than bookverse, but will soon go to bookverse.  Credit to Heather's father and our friend Wesley as story consultants.

Additional notes – we paraphrase a quote from a _Buffy the Vampire Slayer_ and invite readers to play spot the Shrek joke.

Chapter Eight

Goodbye Gifts

~*~*~*~

The remaining members of the Fellowship stayed in the woods of Lorien for a few days, simply relaxing and recuperating from their ordeal.  (Though Rowan was certain that some members had nearly been kicked out because of a certain girl teaching a certain pair of hobbits how to play Sardines.)  Then one night, the company was asked to appear before the Lord and Lady.  If Rowan and Mia were right about the time frame of events, Frodo and Sam had had their experience with the Mirror of Galadriel by then.

It was time for the Fellowship to move on, as the Lord and Lady of the woods tactfully informed them.  Galadriel told them to go to sleep peacefully in preparation for the next day's journey, but most of the Fellowship was fairly certain that no peace would come to them.  For even now, they did not know where they would go once they left the woods—to Mordor or to Minas Tirith, as suggested by Boromir.

And what made things worse was that Rowan and Mia also weren't sure where they would be going, since everything seemed to be different from what they had expected.  Why not the final destination of the Fellowship as a whole?  (Privately, Mia was praying that they didn't stray _too_ far from the 'sacred storyline'—otherwise she would just have a fit.)

The next morning, the ten of them made swift work of their packing, and the Lorien elves gave them supplies for the journey.  Food and clothing, including _lembas_ and size fit cloaks.  They were light, warm gray cloaks, also great for concealing one's self.  Mia said, "I would have preferred an invisibility cloak."

"I'm going to regret asking this, but why?" asked Sam as they headed for the river and the boats that would take them out of Lothlorien.  He noticed Rowan making frantic signals for him to take that back, but that just made him all the more curious about this one of Mia's strange comments.

"Because then I could swoop around and scare Professor Snape!" Mia said gleefully.

"She _had_ to read _Harry Potter_," Rowan muttered.

Legolas looked from girl to girl and said, puzzled, "Is that so bad?"

Almost cynically, Mia thought, _Only if you're Rowan and swearing off the fad of the literary world_.  Aloud, she said, "Only if you're obsessed or plain crazy…and Rowan, FYI, I was making a _joke_?  You know, funny comment?"

"Don't do that again."

Aragorn glanced back at them, lifting an eyebrow.  They shut up and went to the boats, with a bit of fumbling on the orders and Mia nearly falling into the river.  (By the fault of Merry, who thought it would be amusing to startle her.)

As the Fellowship left the shores of Lothlorien, they arranged themselves on the boats in this manner: Frodo, Sam, and Mia on one boat, Rowan and Aragorn on another, Merry, Pippin, and Boromir on the next, and Legolas and Gimli in the fourth.  Mia felt quite happy about the arrangement on the whole, until she remembered what happened next.  (Or what was supposed to happen, but there was no harm in being prepared.)  _Oh smeg oh smeg_, she thought.  Trying to get a silent message across to Rowan didn't help matters any, since Rowan decided to ignore her and Sam was muttering about knocking the boat over.

Mia had just given up on her Charades endeavor when the Lord and Lady invited them Fellowship to eat with them before leaving the woods entirely.  Celeborn gave advice on where to go and Galadriel gave gifts to each member of the Fellowship.  Including the girls from the future, both of whom stammered and said that the Lady Galadriel didn't really _need_ to give them gifts…

Of course, the elven lady ignored their subtle hints to leave them out.  While a good percentage of the Fellowship (and Celeborn) hid smiles, Galadriel said to the girls, "My gift to you both is advice and counsel that I believe you need.  Choose wiser than your friend and do not follow his path."

"Believe us, Lady Galadriel, that is the _last_ thing we want," said Rowan.

"Keep it that way.  And remember what you saw!" Galadriel said sternly, definitely meaning the visions of destruction she had given them on their first day in Lothlorien.  She smiled at their worried expressions.  "Though as I am a fair lady, I shall not have you leave without more than words.  To you, Mia, I give a book filled with some of the most powerful words in the Elvish tongue.  For I know you have spent your time in Lorien studying and have become fairly fluent in Elvish."  Galadriel handed the girl a small, 'pocket-size' book that would not be too cumbersome on the journey.

Mia immediately started flipping through it, her eyes lighting up with pleasure.  "Awesome…thank you, Lady," she said absently, ignoring the surprised look on Rowan's face.  She had more reason to master the Elvish language than she'd had reason to pass Spanish class, after all.

"It may come in handy," said Galadriel enigmatically.  Now Rowan looked very surprised.  "And for the young woman who takes what actions may be necessary, I give you a sword.  Mind you not just any sword.  This sword was crafted by some of the best swordsmiths in Lorien.  I give it to you because there may be a time when an action must be taken and no one else will be able to but you."

Rowan looked at the sword, noting that it looked like any sword of Elvish make and feeling oddly relieved that it wasn't anything special like Excalibur or Aragorn's sword.  She said, "Thank you."  (And ignoring Mia's mutter of "Sure, _she_ gets to act like Luke Skywalker…")

Now was the time to continue with the journey.  They all rose and headed back to the boats.  All were arranged as before.  The elves pushed the four boats onto the river.  Soon most of the fellowship could see much of Lorien.  While Gimli and Legolas discussed how sad for all it was to leave, Mia and Rowan sat with their companions in thoughtful contemplation.  How could they have expected this sadness?  Yes, they had read in the books how sad the company was to leave Lorien.

It was one thing to read of light and joy, and the loss of such things.  It was a whole other feeling to experience the world that was Lothlorien and leave it behind knowing they might never see it again.

~*~*~*~

The next few days passed very slowly, for no one really wanted to reach Findrock.  Even though they had to.  The discussion of where to go next would be made there.

About four days down the river, Sam saw Gollum.  Seeing as Aragorn was already aware of him, they merely kept a sharper look out for the creepy sneaker.  And Mia started another quiet argument with Rowan involving calling Gollum by his proper name of 'Smeagol.'  Actually, the argument was about as quiet as a regular argument between the two, since they were traveling on the river at the time.  When the argument degenerated into one better heard from five year olds, Aragorn informed them that they ought to shut up or else, never mind that mostly everyone else found the argument a bit funny.

On the eighth night, they kept traveling down the river rather than stop on the shore.  Aragorn had believed that the rapids of Sarn Gebir were mile ahead but they were not.  Within moments, they had to turn up river.  The only problem was, as the Fellowship came back, Orcs began to attack them.

Rather than try to pull off a water fight, they got back to the shore.  And just to make matters worse, shadow appeared.  Legolas shot at with his bow, and that action was followed by a distinctly satisfying 'thunk' as the first arrow fired hit its mark.  The hovering thing disappeared before the next arrow went up in the air, and the girls looked at each other in fear.  It was a Ringwraith, that much was obvious—but a different Ringwraith than everyone else was expecting.

The Nazgul of Middle-Earth didn't exactly ride on horses that buzzed, after all.

And neither girl had heard a buzzing like that since they'd last been at school, where some ingenious teachers drove their cars right to the classroom—or in the case of Mia's science teacher, his motorcycle.

~*~*~*~

The rest of the journey passed with solemnity and wariness, especially after the Ringwraith encounter.  And for once, Rowan felt more worried than Mia did—the other girl was more involved in helping Boromir's endeavor to quiet the chattering Pippin.

The Fellowship stopped at the Parth Galen in the late afternoon, unloaded a few things as they had the intent of staying on shore that night, and Boromir began to speak of going to Minas Tirith.  Frodo looked torn between that idea and continuing onto Mordor as had been planned, and asked to have an hour by himself—which was granted.

As Frodo walked off into the woods, and while Rowan was otherwise occupied by a small squabble with Gimli, Mia glanced at Sam.  "Master Samwise, are you thinking what I am thinking?" she asked in a low voice.

"That Mr. Frodo has something else in mind?" Sam whispered back.  Mia nodded.  "Aye, Miss Regan, I have thought that for a while now.  He has acted strangely, ever since…an incident back in Lothlorien."

"And let me guess: the mirror did _not_ reply that Middle-Earth was the fairest kingdom of all," Mia said dryly.  Sam blinked at her.  "Rowan and I have heard legends about Galadriel's mirror, you know."  Not quite the truth, not quite a lie.  "And please tell me that the mirror did _not_ speak, 'cause that would have spoiled my joke."

Sam smiled despite his worry for Frodo.  "No, it did not."

"Okay, then.  So what did you have in mind about Mr. I'll Just Sneak Away From You All back there?" Mia asked cheerfully.

After informing her that 'Mr. Frodo prefers the shortened version of his name,' Sam admitted that he'd only planned to go after Frodo—and the girl said it was a brilliant idea.  The two spoke quietly and presently, Sam casually stood, his intent to follow Frodo not obvious at the moment.  _Go him_, Mia thought encouragingly, deliberately not looking in Rowan's direction.  She felt as if she might start giggling, for some reason.

At the same time that the hobbit gardener stood up, Legolas announced that he felt a 'foul thing' on the wind.

"Wraiths, I'll bet," Rowan growled.

Mia listened for a telltale motor sound—the previous evening, she and Rowan had agreed that something very creepy had happened to the wraiths (well, creepier than _usual_), and they'd suddenly been gifted with flying motorcycles.  Either that or their flying horses made weird noises.  She shook her head.  "I don't hear anything," she said.  "Er, wraith like, anyway."

"And I'm sure they make the big honkin' screeches for our benefit," said Rowan sarcastically.

"Funny, I thought they just _honked_ nowadays."

Legolas looked at them, sensing an argument on the rise.  "I do not hear anything either—rumbling or screeching or honking—but I do not doubt that the wraiths or something worse are on the way," he said hastily, placating both girls.

"Frodo is out alone!" Pippin yelped and ran into the woods.  It was a perfect cover, but still Mia yelled, "Pip—SAM!"  She shot Rowan an exasperated glance, which was returned with an eye rolling.  _Well, if the intent wasn't clear before, it sure as heck is now_, Mia thought.

As Boromir had also gone off by then, Aragorn decided to see where the Gondor man and Ringbearer had gone.  Maybe he suspected that Boromir was going to go after the Ring or do something else equally insane.  "Mia, you stay here as a guard," he ordered.

_Translated roughly; you're not good at kicking wraith or Orc butt while searching for people.  Yeah, whatever_.  Mia nodded, not feeling too bad about being shoved in the 'stay out of place and guard' position.

Rowan snorted.  "Have fun, Mia," she said.

"You'll be having fun all the _mo-ore_," Mia said in a sing-song voice, waggling her eyebrows.

Rowan felt her ears turn red.  _That was _not_ fair_! she thought indignantly, and did not look at Legolas as they jogged into the woods a step behind Gimli.

~*~*~*~

At the banks of the river, it was still and eerily so at that.  Mia hummed absently and kept her eyes out for Orcs and the Ringwraiths.  Just as she started to run over her Elvish lessons in her head, there was a rustling in the brush.  She drew her gray cloak around her and backed into the shadows, fearing an attack.  It was only Frodo.  He stood there on the banks for a long moment and then headed for the boats decisively.

Something was wrong with this picture.  Instead of two hobbits, there was only one.  And there wasn't even a telltale crashing in the forest to announce the arrival of the one missing from the picture.  _This isn't good.  Where the H-E double-hockey-sticks is Sam_? Mia thought and stepped forward.  "Frodo?" she called.  He jumped, spinning around and nearly falling over.  She winced slightly and moved to help, but he'd already regained his balance by the time she reached the boats.  Keep her voice deliberately casual, she said, "Sorry, but I need to get my pack."

"You aren't going to stop me?" Frodo said suspiciously as the girl grabbed her pack.

Mia paused and then knelt down in front of the Ringbearer.  "I think the phrase I'm looking for is 'no way,'" she said reflectively, prompting a slight smile.  "Frodo, this is your quest now—if it is your belief that you must go alone, then few can sway you otherwise.  I have great faith in you, dear hobbit."  _This is good.  This sounds logical.  One teensy-weensy problem.  Where.  Is.  Sam_?!

Frodo looked at her for a moment before hugging her, quite suddenly.  Mia had a brain short-circuit (AGAIN) but her automatic pilot had thankfully taken over.  She returned the hug, almost carefully, and placed a kiss on his forehead.  After another second, Frodo released her and she stood, blinking rapidly.  _Hurry up, Sam_! she thought.  _Before I make a complete dingbat out of myself!  _"_Namarie_, Frodo."

"_Namarie_," Frodo responded, quietly.

Mia nodded, and as was her habit by then, cut out of there quickly.  She told herself it was because Sam was pretty much as good as there—if the loud rustling in the forest was any indication, anyway—though as she broke down into tears once she was out of the hobbit's sight, that was probably a lie.  "Bloody soft-hearted," Mia growled at herself.

~*~*~*~

Meanwhile, as Rowan searched for the wayward hobbits with Legolas and Gimli, a horn suddenly blared.  The girl nearly leapt out of her skin, but she wasn't the only one nearly frightened to death.  "The horn of Gondor!" Legolas exclaimed, looking as startled as Gimli was.  "Come, we must help!"

_Why do elves have to run so fast_? Rowan groaned inwardly as she struggled to keep pace with Legolas and Gimli.

But the three of them arrived moments too late, and found Aragorn sitting near Boromir's still body.  Rowan swallowed back the bile rising in her throat at the sight of the arrows and blood and carnage surrounding them—it looked a lot worse in reality than she had expected.  Aragorn swiftly related what Boromir had told him—the attempted taking of the Ring and Merry and Pippin's capture.

"And what of the Ringbearer?" Gimli asked.

"No sight of Frodo yet, I am afraid.  Sam suspected he would try to leave," said Aragorn slowly.  Rowan instantly looked towards the river.  "Ah!  So you suspect the same?"

"Er.  Maybe," Rowan hedged, and changed the subject.  She didn't know exactly what was going on back on the shores of the Great River, but she had a pretty good idea.  "Shouldn't we give Boromir a proper burial?"

Sufficiently distracted, Aragorn nodded briskly.  "Yes.  By boat."

_By boat.  Oookay…just go with it._  Rowan wondered what it was about guys and sending people out in glory but she assisted in the preparations, and then they went to get one of the boats.  They found Mia sitting near the trees, staring at the water.

"They left, didn't they?" Rowan muttered to her friend.

"Yep."

"Shoulda had you go hunting," Rowan said with a sigh and decided not to ask why Mia suddenly grinned like some kind of goof.  In a lower voice, "What are we going to do?"

Mia shrugged.  "Not sure."  The girls exchanged glances and the same thought went through their heads.  _Randy_.  "Oh, great.  You thinking what I'm thinking?"

Aragorn called to them just then and they stood.  Rowan said, "That we need to go back to Lorien?"

"_Enh_?!"

"Oh, that's _not_ what you were thinking?" Rowan asked and Mia rolled her eyes in exasperation.

The two girls helped the guys send Boromir off and then they went to get into the remaining boats.  Aragorn had decided that they should go after Merry and Pippin, and the girls weren't exactly sure how to explain that they were not going along.

Explanations came when the guys docked and began walking away, while the girls did not.  Man, dwarf, and elf all looked back.  "Are you not joining us?" Aragorn called.  Mia shot Rowan a look—obviously the hobbit friend wanted to go help the hobbits, despite whatever else might be going down somewhere.  Rowan shook her head, both at Mia and Aragorn.  "Where do you plan to go?"

"Wherever it is, it involves trouncing Randy into the next millennium," said Mia, smiling brightly.  Rowan smacked her.  "Ow!  Rowan, _stop_ hitting—"

Legolas shot Rowan a look and said something in Elvish.  (Mia blinked rapidly and took a few steps back.)  "Legolas, I don't understand a word you're saying," Rowan said.

"Sorry," he said sheepishly.  "I asked if you truly mean to say goodbye like this."

"We thought it would mean less delay," said Rowan.  "And we figured Randy wouldn't be…um…"

This would be so much easier if she didn't know that Mia was smirking at her.

Legolas cut her off.  "It is all right, Rowan.  I understand one must follow their own path."

At this Rowan felt flustered, not knowing at all what to say next.  "Well, Legolas, thank you for understand.  I…"  Legolas had been moving forward towards her as she spoke.  This of course made Rowan a little nervous.  (And again, it did not help that her friend was standing not a yard away, trying not to laugh and _still_ smirking.)

"Rowan," he placed his hands on her shoulders.  "I believe we shall meet again."  He gave her a brief hug.  _Oh, my GOD!  Legolas just HUGGED me!  Oh, man oh man oh man_…  Now Rowan knew what Mia meant by 'brain short-circuits.'  "All of us.  You and Mia have to do what you were sent here for."

"You cannot take on the Nine Riders!" Gimli said, giving the girls a look.  He thought about that.  "Or eleven riders, as seen by the Rivendell elves—but that is not the point!  You cannot!"

Rowan cut Mia off before the inevitable 'no—really?' could come out.  "We're aware but we also fear the—" Mia coughed.  Right, use of profane words and names probably would _not_ go over well with the remaining Fellowship.  "Um, _Randy_ may be planning something.  And I don't think he's fully wraith yet.  We can handle that creep."

"And if not, we can run like heck," said Mia solemnly, well out of the way of Rowan's hitting hand.

"Then go, if you believe that you can stop him," said Aragorn.  "And perhaps we may meet up again."

At that moment, Legolas chose to look at Rowan again and say something.  Again, in Elvish and again, Rowan did not understand a word.  To make matters worse, Mia started giggling.  "Until we meet again, _namarie_," said Rowan as the dwarf, elf and man began to walk away.

"_Namarie_.  Bye!  _Ciao.  Sayon_—OW!"

Rowan turned, shaking her hand absently.  Constantly hitting someone's shoulder bone could hurt the hand after a while.  "Har, har.  What'd he say?"  Grinning wickedly, Mia flipped through her book and showed her friend.  '_My heart will sing when we meet again_,' Rowan read, and her eyes bugged out.  "Good GRIEF!"

"Hey, at least you didn't talk to your shoes."

"Oh, shut up."

To be continued in Chapter Nine – where a lot of questions are answered…hopefully.


	10. Chapter Nine Answered Questions

When the Worlds Cross

By Heather and Jane

_Disclaimer_: Middle-Earth and its peoples belong to the great J.R.R. Tolkien.  Mia, Rowan, and Randy belong to us.  Any and all similarities to real life events/people are pure coincidence—unless they appear with permission (reason for this will come in a later chapter.)

_Summary_: The planned journey back to Lothlorien is interrupted by a dream and the Nazgul are visited.

_Authors' Notes_: co-written between Jane and Heather, two Lord of the Rings fans that are trying to keep true to the story.  First part more movieverse than bookverse, but will soon go to bookverse.  Credit to Heather's father and our friend Wesley as story consultants.

Additional Notes: we borrowed a line from the movie The Untouchables and welcome the running 'Smeagol' gag

gaile – thank you very much for all of the commentary and reviews…hope you like this chapter too!

Chapter Nine

Answered Questions

~*~*~*~

When night came, the two girls hadn't gotten extremely far in their journey back to Lothlorien—partly because they were being cautious about traveling down the banks of the river and partly because they were holding a small discussion (argument) about why exactly they were going back.  By the time they realized they had to stop, they had figured that Lothlorien was close, so it was easier to go there than to Minas Tirith or the White City, or Orthanc—Mia hit Rowan for _that_ particular suggestion.

Mia lost the argument to have a huge fire and consequently got first watch, while Rowan with her big sword got to sleep.  Amazingly, Rowan didn't seem so concerned that Orcs might come after them and just grunted when Mia pressed the issue—annoying the heck out of the slightly taller girl.  Mia spent the first part of her watch staring around in the dark, panicking at the least little sound, and then vowing revenge on someone when her panic subsided.  Preferably Randy—hurting an evil Nazgul just might have her feeling a bit better.

_Just hope that I get to that smeghead before Rowan does,_ Mia thought absently as she poked at the small fire with a stick.  _She'll kill him…I'll just maim him or make it impossible to have children_.  She blinked._  Oh, dear, that would be mean of me, wouldn't it?  And would I actually do that_?

She pondered the likelihood of that happening for a good few minutes.  And then she fell asleep.  Headed straight for the dream that Rowan was already in.

_It was a room, quite like a college lecture hall or a rather large and badly decorated classroom at a high school.  Mia and Rowan sat in two fairly uncomfortable chairs, looking up at Gandalf.  He appeared to be in the middle of some kind of lecture, given that he was talking animatedly, waving his pointy hat around (that didn't make too much sense), and standing near a white podium._

_"There were three Rings crafted for the Elven people," Gandalf was saying as both girls blinked, as if they'd just woken up.  He seemed not to notice.  "Nenya, Vilya, and Narya.  When the Dark Lord began his rule, they were hidden away and at times passed around—if you know your history, you know to whom.  During the War of the ring, they still are.  In one of the futures where the Ring has been destroyed, much of the power has changed, much as the Elves have."_

_Rowan raised a hand.  "Question—didn't the elves leave?"_

_"Not wholly.  Some remained in Middle-Earth, though not a lot know that," the wizard told her, and she nodded.  Mia looked as if she were still focusing on the 'one of the futures' comment.  "Mia, pay attention!"_

_She jerked.  "Yessir!"_

_"Thank you.  Back to the discussion…not all of the elves left.  And thousands of years passed—you might say the elves 'de-evolved' throughout the years, blending in with the growing population of man."_

_"Um, Gandalf?" Mia raised a hand.  He looked her.  "How can elves 'de-evolve'?  I thought…"_

_Gandalf thought a moment.  "As said, they blended into the population and most of the 'old age' elves began keeping to themselves, while the new generations embraced the idea of human life."  That satisfied the girls, and he went back to the subject.  "And over those years where the world changed, two of the rings of the elves were handed down through families, though they were not recognized as rings as time went on."  Gandalf waved a hand and two things appeared in front of him.  "This is what they are in your time."_

_The girls' jaws dropped at the same time._

_"Hey, that's my rock!"_

_"Good grief, that's the necklace my mom made me keep—death otherwise."_

_Rowan looked at her.  "Death otherwise?"_

_"Mother can be touchy," Mia said calmly._

_"Yet you do not handle them often.  This is a good thing."  Gandalf paused and recounted the story of the Nine Rings for Mortal Men—men that were now the Nazgul, thanks to their desire for power and Sauron's subsequent enslavement of them.  "After the Ring was destroyed, the Nazgul finally died and the Rings were collected.  However, one was stolen and passed down through a family that never failed to wear it, in hopes that they might gain more power or that the Dark Lord might return.  And a Nazgul wears it again."_

_The wizard looked at them.  "I do believe that you know of whom I speak."_

_"Randy!" both girls exclaimed._

_"Yes.  You—and I mean the three of you—know of how the Ring was destroyed.  Now Randy is one of the Nazgul and knows what to do to prevent the destruction of the Ring.  You two must stop him—as you know where to go."_

_"Problem!" Rowan interrupted.  "Randy can fly—we only walk.  And not at a very fast pace, either!_

_Gandalf grinned.  "You think so?"_

_The girls exchanged glances and Rowan said, "Er…yeah."_

_"I think not.  Here endeth the lesson."_

The girls woke up at the exact same time, finding that it was morning already and that there were two fully saddled horses staring at them.  "Guess that wasn't a dream," said Rowan, after glaring at Mia for not keeping watch.

"Oh, I knew that when there were no penguins at school," Mia said dismissively.  That got a stare.  She frowned defensively.  "What!  I have weird dreams!"

"Whatever.  Where are we going?"

"To find Randy?"

Rowan frowned.  "Doesn't that involve finding Gollum?"

"_SMEAGOL_!"

"Yeah, yeah, him too," said Rowan impatiently.  "So, are we going to find the Sneaker and our stinky Nazgul friend?"

Mia nodded.  "Yeah, but we have to be careful.  God knows how much of a Nazgul Randy is and…well, if we find Mr. Smeagol, we find the hobbits and that…"

"Might create issues, yeah, I know.  Well!"  Rowan leapt to her feet with an energy that she hadn't displayed in the morning before.  Mia gaped at her, remembering that her friend had needed a can of soda before she could literally 'jumpstart'.  "Don't look at me like that!  Let's get a move on and find Gollum."

"Smeagol."

"Stop that."

~*~*~*~

The suspicions of Rowan and Mia were somewhat accurate—Randy had not yet become a full Ringwraith yet, though he was slipping a little more into the shadow world each day.  What made things all the worse was that Randy wanted to be a part of the Nazgul.  Or he supposed he did.

Rings of Power could do many things to the minds of mortal men.  Formerly good could be twisted to evil, the innocent corrupted, and all go the route they do thinking it is their own choice.  When, truly, Evil is enslaving them.  Technically, Randy knew that—he'd read Lord of the Rings and had run into countless other references in life—but he couldn't really be bothered to care.

He could almost say that he was enjoying himself…if not for the little voice in his head that kept yelling at him that it was wrong to be siding with the evil guys, it was wrong to be going after his friends and his old heroes as if they were in the wrong, and most of all, it was wrong to be hanging around a large number of Nazgul.

Randy clearly remembered there only being nine Nazgul, yet there was another one—_one from the future_, the evil whispery voice (_Sauron_, yammered the last good part of Randy's mind) told him sometimes—that seemed more dangerous than the rest of them.  And for the life of him, Randy couldn't figure out if that was because the future-Nazgul rode a sort of flying motorcycle or because that Nazgul could speak without really screeching.

Well, the latter was a relief on the ears…

Some time after the chase of the Ringbearer had started—a long time after, Randy later recalled—the future Nazgul called him up.  "You know of where the Ringbearer and his friends go," it said hissingly.

Randy nodded.  "Yes, I do," he said, wondering what this had to do with the price of rice in China (or weed in Hobbiton, to get with the countries).

"You will follow them.  Prevent the Ringbearer from destroying the Ring before the battle that the Lord Sauron commands."

"I will," said Randy, not quite forming a question and not quite making an affirmative statement.

"Yes.  You are our best chance for…victory."

The future-Nazgul made a strange sound that Randy realized was a laugh—a triumphant, evil laugh at that.  Most of him wanted to join in the dark, evil fun.

The rest of him wanted to defect to the light side.

He ignored that impulse.

To Be Continued in Chapter Ten, in which there is fighting, mean horses, and a visit with another character.  Please leave all commentary and questions in the review box—will make us post sooner!


	11. Chapter Ten Trouble With Horses and Naz...

When the Worlds Cross

By Heather and Jane

_Disclaimer_: Middle-Earth and its peoples belong to the great J.R.R. Tolkien.  Mia, Rowan, and Randy belong to us.  Any and all similarities to real life events/people are pure coincidence—unless they appear with permission (reason for this will come in a later chapter.)

_Warning_: spoilers ahead for Two Towers and then Return of the King!

_Summary_: The horses attack Mia, Rowan gets to fight, and Legolas worries.

_Authors' Notes_: co-written between Jane and Heather, two Lord of the Rings fans that are trying to keep true to the story.  First part more movieverse than bookverse, but will soon go to bookverse.  Credit to Heather's father and our friend Wesley as story consultants.

Notes: we quote Disney's Hercules, Buffy the Vampire Slayer (again), and Shrek (again) in this chapter, as well as keep up with the 'Smeagol' gag.

Shout outs to reviewers after chapter…

Chapter Ten

Trouble With Horses and Nazgul

~*~*~*~

While the 'gift of horses' was a kind and practical gesture from whoever was playing ringmaster with the girls' dreams (their money was on Gandalf, naturally), Rowan made Mia wait a moment while she checked the horses out.  After declaring them perfectly normal, if a bit miffed at being inspected—

"Miffed?" Mia repeated.

"It's all in the faces."

—the girls were free to get a move on.  Sort of.  When Rowan turned around to start packing up the camp, Mia went to make friendly with the horses and nearly got her arm chomped off by the darker brown of the two.  "Yikes!" she exclaimed, leaping back in alarm.

"What is it?" asked Rowan, sounding exasperated.

"This horse just tried to bite me!"

"Then go get the other one."

Mia backed away from the biting horse warily and tried to take the lighter brown horse's bridle.  That worked not at all, since it flung its head back for a moment, only to snake back and actually get a hold of Mia's sleeve.  _Okay_, Mia thought, glaring at the part of the horse that held her captive.  _I will be calm.  Maybe they are not morning people.  Maybe they only like girls that happen to own horses back home_.  She took a deep breath.

The darker brown horse nipped at the air by Mia's other elbow and she leapt back, her sleeve ripping a little.  Not that it made any difference, since the other horse still had a good grip…

_Okay, forget calm.  I will not be calm!  These horses think I'm breakfast!  Or something like that_…

"Rowan…"

Rowan turned around, ready to yell at Mia for taking forever, and stopped when she saw what had happened.  _Oh, dear_.  She stifled a smile, and asked innocently, "Is something wrong?"

"Rowan," Mia snarled.  This just was _not_ her morning.  First they have a dream that was practical and yet freaky, then horses just show up, and then Rowan reveals herself to be a closet morning person?  _Yeah, that works out quite well for me_, she thought grumpily.  "Please do something about these guys—are they guys?"

"Girls, actually," Rowan replied.

"Right—please do something about these girls and I will take care of the packing."  Mia looked at her sleeve, decided that a shirt was inconsequential, and ripped it free, running immediately thereafter.  Rowan looked at her friend in amusement before going to see which of the horses was either nicer or more tolerant.

As it turned out, the darker one would probably be better for the girl with less riding experience, since the lighter horse was acting quite hyperactive that day.  Rowan simply pointed, Mia grimaced slightly but nodded before handing over the bags.  "So," Rowan said, trying not to laugh at the very funny sight of Mia standing far, far away from animals that she claimed to love.  "You do have a map of the area, right?"

"Yeah, and no, it is not in my head," said Mia.

"I was not going to ask that."

"You were thinking about asking.  I don't memorize maps, I memorize facts," said Mia, rolling her eyes.  "Anyway, if we're on horseback, it should be a fairly quick trip to Mordor."

Rowan frowned in confusion.  "I thought we were going after Gollum."

"Smeagol," Mia corrected her.  "And we are.  He will be going to Mordor, and no, this is not an excuse to see Frodo again.  Well, it is, but as a _side_ _benefit_," she defended herself when the slightly shorter girl gave her a look.  "Stop looking at me like that.  It's like this—the hobbits and Smeagol will be going south.  We go south—to Mordor—we find Smeagol."

"Before or after our least favorite Nazgul idiot does?"

Finally approaching 'her' horse again, Mia said innocently, "Doesn't he have no sense of direction?"

"He can't follow a road map, if that's what you mean," said Rowan, before getting it.  "Ah.  He'll take a little longer…if he is—"

"Better safe than sorry.  _Yaah_!"

Rowan rolled her eyes and mounted her horse while Mia struggled with getting fully upright.  "I thought you said you'd done a little riding."

"Not with a horse that's—_yah_!"  Mia held on for dear life as her horse bucked a little.  "Trying to throw me off as if we're in some kind of rodeo!"

_Too bad, because that would be hella funny,_ thought Rowan.  She didn't say that, of course; Mia the Not a Morning Person wouldn't be extremely happy.  She just said, "Let's get a move on…" She tapped lightly at her horse's sides and they started forward.

"Uh, Rowan?"

"Yeah?"

"Mordor would be that way?" said Mia, pointing in the opposite direction.

"I knew that," said Rowan defensively, turning the horse around and urging it to speed up.  And ignoring Mia's laughter (and yelps) as the other girl caught up.  "Stop yelping, it isn't that bumpy."

That got a glare, but the two girls fell silent (for once) as they headed to the south, at a fairly good pace that Rowan estimated would put them a day or two ahead of the hobbits and Gollum if they kept at said speed for a while.  She glanced at Mia, and decided not to mention that travel breaks would only be when the horses needed them.

The girls were operating on a somewhat tight schedule, after all.

~*~*~*~

Three days later, the girls descended Emyn Muil and while happy, Mia felt a bit uneasy about their quick route across the countryside.  She shouldn't have minded that they were reaching their goal so quickly…but there she was.  _Maybe it's the whole bit about how I thought that I'd slow us down_, Mia thought ruefully, which she honestly had assumed.  Her lack of riding experience had been remedied easily enough, provided that she remembered to hang onto her horse and make sure that it didn't try to throw her off.

"How are we time wise?" asked Rowan as they set up camp for the evening, not too far from Emyn Muil.

Mia glanced at the darkening sky and did some calculations.  "Lessee, if this is…what, the thirtieth of February?  Don't look at me like that—Middle-Earth calendar, not ours.  Anyway.  We're ahead of Frodo by a day, methinks.  Too much?"

"We'll see.  I meant when is he going to run into Gollum?"

"Smeagol.  And unless we've thrown a serious monkey wrench into the gears of proper time, he should be meeting Smeagol around tomorrow or soon thereafter."

Rowan nodded, opening one of the packs that had been included on the horses' saddles—nothing more than extra camping equipment, which came in very handy at night.  "Then we'll keep the same pace.  You know, I think I could see Minas Mordor from here," she said cheerfully.

Mia looked up from her pack in surprise.  "The tower?  From _here_?  Is that even possible?"

"Dunno, but I swear I saw it.  Or Isengard."

"With towers that big, ya gotta wonder if they're compensating for something," Mia snorted.

"Sauron is!"

The girls snickered evilly for a moment before resuming preparations for the evening (and getting the horses to stop trying to take a piece out of Mia's hide).  The sun hadn't quite set yet, which was just fine with them—until an odd shadow flew overhead.  Mia glanced up, saw the same shadow against the sky, and motioned for Rowan to stop making a fire.  Her friend frowned at her, about to ask what was wrong, but stopped when Mia pointed up.  The shadow was swooping around again, looking eerily like the pictures accompanying the Bellerephon and Pegasus myth in some books.

Rowan looked over at Mia.  'Nazgul?' she mouthed, and Mia nodded, repeating that silently.  Nazgul.  _What a wonderful way to end the day.  At least we haven't been _walking_ all day_…

"What does it want?" Rowan whispered, already getting her bow out.  She wore her quiver of arrows constantly (except when sleeping—then it was designated to surrogate teddy bear, of all things) but only picked up her bow if there was serious trouble.  She had yet to use her sword.

Mia watched the shadow fly in widening circles, before muttering, "Looks like he's looking for something."  And then the Nazgul-shadow began tightening the circles it was flying in.  "And now it seems as if he's got a lockdown."

"Yeah, but for and on what?" Rowan asked.

The other girl shrugged slightly, and the two of them continued to watch the Nazgul-shadow, which was rapidly coming into focus as it swooped lower and lower to the ground in its circles.  Something seemed incredibly off about the way the wraith was handling its flying horse, too.  Rowan suddenly pointed.  "Mia!"

"I know!  I see!" Mia hissed, shocked beyond previous belief.

The girls had been prepared for this; they had even had discussions about what would happen if this sort of thing did happen.  But that was idle planning and theory, not reality—which was still shocking.  Their flying Nazgul-shadow was none other than Randy himself.  He looked like he'd been through hell—or rather, looked like he had been living in hell and loved it.

_This cannot go on—work, brain, work—and there we are_.  Mia glanced at her best friend.  "Rowan, I've got an idea."

"Way ahead of you," said Rowan smugly as she took an arrow out of her quiver and nocked it in the bow.

Mia goggled.  "Don't kill him!" she hissed, glancing up to make sure that Randy the Nazgul was still circling.  _Yep, still with the circles—wonder if wraiths get dizzy_.  "That's not what I meant!"

"Mia, he's a Nazgul," said Rowan, rolling her eyes.  "What else should I do?"

"Finally, you use the correct term," Mia muttered, fumbling for her dagger.  After getting it out, she made sure that there was just a problem with the sheath and not with the blade itself—once she'd made sure that Randy was still circling.  _He _has_ to be getting dizzy_.  "Anyway, what if Randy is still in there…somewhere?  We can't kill him!"

Rowan gave her another one of those 'you are crazy' looks, before starting to ask, "Why?" and then just giving up.  "Oh, for the love of Pete."  She proceeded to blunt the point of the arrow, muttering about how Mia's tolerance of Randy sometimes became just a bit _too_ much.  _Yeah, yeah, I know_, thought Mia.  Randy was now a Nazgul.  Nazgul were bad and creepy besides.  _But then again, the Nazgul can't be killed technically, can they?  Food for thought_.  "How about I just knock him out of the air for a time?"

"Okay, that'll work," said Mia, giving the arrow a look.  How exactly was _that_ supposed to knock Randy the Nazgul out of the air?

Looking satisfied that she would at least get in some form of Randy-bashing, Rowan once again nocked the now-not-so-deadly arrow, aimed, and let it fly.  Mia winced as Randy took the hit in the side.  Then his flying steed reared up, not liking how its rider was behaving, and Randy fell to the ground about five meters away from the girls.

_Ouch_, was all Mia could think.  "Oh, my God, you killed Randy."

"Did not."

"Sure looks like you did."

"Shut up, this is not South Park.  Okay, so now what?" Rowan asked.

"Oh, my _God_.  Do I have to think of everything, Rowan?" Mia hissed, looking annoyed.

Rowan just grinned at her briefly.  "Well, considering that all you're good for here is the thinking…don't look at me like that," she ordered, looking back over at Randy.  "We better do something before he gets up and catches his horse again."

Like he can get up? Mia thought in surprise.  "Why don't we go see what happened to him first?" she asked.

"Okay," Rowan said as she pulled out the elf blade she'd been given in Lorien.

Mia gave the blade a wary look.  "Do you really think you'll need that?"

"It's always better to be safe than sorry.  And you're right behind me on this, right?"

"Oh, yes, of course," said Mia, getting up and following a good foot behind Rowan.  "Of course, I refuse to be less than ten feet behind you…"

Thankfully, Rowan refrained from calling her friend a wuss.

The girls slowly proceeded towards the fallen form of Randy.  He wasn't moving an inch and looked rather pale beneath the hood.  Granted, that could have been thanks to his conversion to the Nazgul but neither of the girls was exactly sure.  Rowan moved closer while Mia stayed back, and for a moment, either could have been the saner one of the situation.

"Rowan!" Mia hissed suddenly, realizing that there was a lack of breathing going on with Randy.

"What?"

"Did you kill him?  And I'm being serious here!"

"No, I don't think I did.  That was a blunted arrow, remember?"  Mia did remember.  "The fall might have but certainly not me."  Rowan kicked his side.

"Uh, that might not be—"

Suddenly, Randy's arm reached out from under him.  He grabbed Rowan's ankle, throwing her so she landed on her back, knocking the breath out of her lungs.  Mia screamed as Rowan's sword skittered away from her.

At that moment, the flying steed landed fairly close by.  Mia looked at it.

With lightening speed, Randy was on his feet and before Rowan could regain her breath, Randy was attacking again.  This time he lunged at her neck, intent on choking the life out of her, but she had recovered by then.  Rowan put her knees in the way of Randy's path and kicked out hard.  This set Randy flying head over heels behind her.  Just as fast, Rowan was up on her feet, wondering if she could distract him long enough to retrieve her sword.

Probably not.  Randy was up and glaring at her, not saying a word.  Not that she would have listened.

"Jeez, Randy, you're quite a work out," she mocked him.  "Maybe we should do this again sometime."  This of course infuriated him.  He ran back at her, probably with slightly different yet still murderous intentions, but this time she was ready.  Before he could stop himself, Rowan lifted her foot and kicked—right where it counts in males.  Apparently, that was still a very sensitive spot to him.  He was down, screeching in agony, and Rowan was running for her sword.

In the meantime, Mia had regained her senses and scared the flying horse away, a surprisingly easy thing to do with just a dagger.  _That's not going to last too long_! she thought worriedly, and had run to pack up the few things they'd put down.  Mia had realized as soon as the fight started that she would not be of any help to her friend and had tried to think of something useful to do.  Which had been scare the flying horse away and get the regular horses loaded up.

Good plan, except Mia got two actual bites for her efforts.  She didn't particularly care, since it would be a while before Randy's airborne method of travel would return.  _Not that I know how long 'a while' is right, now, but I do not care_! Mia thought firmly, scrambling in her saddle as Randy howled.

Feeling pleased that her less-action-ready friend had managed to think on her feet, Rowan picked up her sword, bow, and quiver of arrows.  Then she leapt into her saddle, Mia finally following suit (but a little slower, as the horse moved at the last minute).  "Let's move!" Rowan yelled, kicking her horse's sides.  The horse leapt off into a gallop.

"Oh, my God!" Mia muttered, her eyes wide, and heeled her horse too, clinging for dear life as it raced to catch up with its friend.  "What did you do to him?"

"Kicked him."

Mia blinked.  "Now _there's_ an idea…"

The girls grinned at each other, before turning their eyes back to the darkening road, intent on getting as far away from Randy as humanly possible.

~*~*~*~

Elves that were Legolas' age were not supposed to blush very easily.  And yet he found himself very close to giving away his slight embarrassment at asking a newly returned Gandalf if he knew what had happened to the Lothlorien bound youngest ex-Fellowship members.  _Did I just think that?  The sarcastic one is influencing me far_ _too much_…  Legolas then found himself wondering exactly which sarcastic one (as per to the fact that he'd noticed that the girls practically took turns mocking each other), and promptly ended that train of thought.

And Gandalf's response to the innocent question had been equally innocent—if one overlooked the amused twinkle in his eyes.  "They will do well," were the wizard's exact words.

_That I do not doubt_, Legolas thought as he, Aragorn, Gimli, and Gandalf the White journeyed to Edoras.  _Between Rowan's battle skills and Mia's intellect, they do well enough in nearly everything—but where are they going_?  If he knew that much, he might feel a bit better about leaving two young human girls on their own.  He reasoned that the girls might have been a little upset with him had he questioned their destination and plan for the coming days.

Though Legolas had hoped that what he had told Rowan would have been left not translated for a time.  He had meant it—his heart _would_ sing to see her again—but the gleeful look on Mia's face did not exactly bode well for Rowan taking the words at face value.

"You're thinking of those two girls, then?" Gimli asked suddenly.

Legolas looked at him sharply, and then over at their two companions to make sure they hadn't been overheard.  No, but Gandalf was sure to guess later.  "'Worrying' is a better way to describe what I am thinking," he told the dwarf.

"Mm.  If that Regan girl keeps her head on straight, they'll get their task done," said Gimli absently.

"Task?  They said they were going back to Lothlorien," said Legolas, puzzled.

Gimli gave him a look that said 'yes, and we said we were going to Mount Doom'.  "Don't worry about them, elf.  If they get lost or that one loses her head, they'll find a way out of it."

"Yes," said Legolas absently, thinking that if Mia were to have a hysterical reaction to anything at a time like this, things might turn out badly.  He hoped Rowan would do the smart thing in that case—_and _not_ hit her over the head_, he told himself silently when his humorous side showed a memory of that exact event.

Now Legolas worried about that being a too regular occurrence.  _I must think about something else…such as Gandalf's story.  And why if anyone (besides two girls) suspected it might happen_…  That was food for thought, and kept him occupied long enough so that he forgot to worry about Mia and Rowan.

Until nightfall, anyway.

To Be Continued – in Chapter Eleven, in which their English teacher visits and the girls go a'marsh walking and mountain climbing.  (They're having fun…)

Shout Outs…

Yavanna: thank you…is this soon enough?

greenfairie: thank you and…patience…

Sandman – thanks!  We like to hear that our plot is going fairly well.

gaile – thank you again for your comments (and we like to think we have enough sarcasm to spare!).  We'll get to reading the latest chapter of your story ASAP, 'kay?

Please leave all commentary, positive and negative, in a review to speed the posting of the next chapters!


	12. Chapter Eleven Dreaming, Climbing, and ...

When the Worlds Cross

By Heather and Jane

_Disclaimer_: Middle-Earth and its peoples belong to the great J.R.R. Tolkien.  Mia, Rowan, and Randy belong to us.  Any and all similarities to real life events/people are pure coincidence—unless they appear with permission (reason for this appearing in this chapter…).

_Summary_: The girls see their English teacher, climb a mountain, and Sam shows up.

_Authors' Notes_: co-written between Jane and Heather, two Lord of the Rings fans that are trying to keep true to the story.  First part more movieverse than bookverse, but will soon go to bookverse.  Credit to Heather's father and our friend Wesley as story consultants.

This chapter is dedicated to our senior English teacher, Mr. Little.  Happy belated birthday! *waves*

References and quotes include a revisit to a Buffy quote, a Star Trek joke, and a reference to An American Tail.  If we missed any, let us know.

Reader thanks following chapter.

Chapter 11

Dreaming, Climbing, and Worrying

~*~*~*~

Dawn broke over Middle-Earth as the girls slowed their horses to a stop, looking a little more harried than the equines did.  "Well," said Rowan after a long moment.  "That was fun.  Did we lose him?"  Mia gave her a dark look.  "I'm serious—did he get on the mighty flying thing and get ahead?"

The other girl shook her head.  "Doubtful," she said, hanging on as her horse decided to kick.  She looked too exhausted to deal with the issues of a rebellious horse.  "I scared that thing off, remember?  It'll be a while before Randy gets it through his thick skull to coax it down without yowling."  She looked ahead of them.  "And it's a good thing we got the extra time."

"For what?" Rowan wondered, urging her horse into a walk and smiling slightly as Mia's horse decided to take the incentive and move into a trot.

Mia rolled her eyes.  "Oh, for the love of St. Catherine!  Ro, what's the next leg of the journey to Mordor that required help?"

"The Dead Marshes."

"Right.  And I don't know about you, but I really don't feel like waiting around for Smeagol, Frodo, and Sam to show up.  That'd just be inviting Randy…and we'd be altering more of the story, which we just can't—"

Rowan frowned at her.  "Mia, shut up, you sound like you're on caffeine.  Again."  Her friend shut up, and she was free to go on with the original point.  "So if Gollum—don't say a _word_—is the only one in a good mile radius that knows the way through (unless you have the added bonus of a flying horse)…we're pretty much screwed."

"Fantastic," muttered Mia, and glanced ahead.  "If we walk very slowly, we'll reach the nearby areas by nightfall, and will have time to plan."

"Right.  So, do you think we could treat it like they're the Swamps of Sadness and Gollum is that wolf thing or something?"

Mia gave her a dirty look.  "Okay, one thing—_I'm_ the one who's acting like she's on caffeine?  And another—can't do that because we don't have a Luck Dragon and _Smeagol_ is most certainly not a evil werewolf thingamajigger…don't look at me like that, it's been a long time since I read the book."

"You have plenty of time to remember; we're two days ahead of the hobbit and Gollum crew."

"Smeagol."

"Shut up."

Mia gave her an irritated look, and then she remarked, "Let's hope we don't run into Faramir or anyone from that area."

"Why?"

"'Cause we'd get a bit delayed and neither of us have come up with a cover story," Mia replied.

Rowan winced.  "Oh, right."  There was that.  "Well, if we see them, we avoid them."

"On—_yaah_!—these horses?" Mia squawked, trying to keep her horse from breaking into a canter.

"Yes.  I'd suggest learning how to deal with them," Rowan replied, grinning broadly.

Mia gave her friend a death glare, and the two of them lapsed into silence for the rest of the long day of riding.

~*~*~*~

Much to Rowan's chagrin, they came close to the Marshes during the early evening and the horses refused to go any farther.  The other girl muttered about brilliant ideas involving temperamental equines failing at the worst possible times, and Rowan refrained from shoving her into the nearest tree.  "Well," she said, while Mia struggled to tie her mare's reins to a makeshift 'post', "what do we do now?"

"Rest—ow!"  Mia rubbed her nipped shoulder, glaring at the culprit.  The mare gave her an innocent look.  "Oh, please—yah!  Um, let the horses rest, watch for bad former friends, and try to have a brilliant idea between now and tomorrow?"

Rowan shook her head as she knelt to start a small fire.  "Unless we have an epiphany, we might have to rely on your memory."

"What?!"

"You're the one with all of the books on Middle-Earth, and can probably remember individual scenes better than I can," Rowan reminded her.

Mia shook her head.  "I'm a kid, not a computer!  And by the way, Jim, he's dead!" she remarked to no one in particular, making her friend laugh.  There was a joke that always waited to happen, no matter what the situation.  "And anyway, it's not like I remember that Smeagol went that way, stepped on this—we might have to just try walking through it on our own.  Don't look at me like that, you have a sword."

"And you have a good screaming voice, so we ought to do…badly!"

Mia muttered something in Elvish and Rowan decided against asking for a translation, intrigued as she was.  Again, the two girls lapsed into silence as the evening shadows grew longer and they tried to think of some way of getting through the Dead Marshes—there was the option of speeding up and going through Rohan, but neither of them mentioned that.  Rowan suspected that maybe Randy thought they'd take the easy and long way out of the journey.  _Fat chance,_ she thought.  _We're stickin' to the original hobbit and evil stinky creature route and it's his too bad if he doesn't think we're up to it_.

Whereas it was their too bad if Randy realized they were up to a difficult journey of walking through a marsh filled with dead people!

"Who's got first watch?" Mia asked, closing one of her books.  It was the _Complete Guide to Middle-Earth_, and she looked frustrated.

_Must not have had the answers she wanted then_…  "I'll take it.  Don't really feel like sleeping, anyway."

"Are we going to get up and get moving early?"

"Yeah, before dawn," replied Rowan.

Mia's eyes widened.  "Oh!  Good night!"  She flopped onto her back comically, and Rowan rolled her eyes.  Amusement was all well and good, but they didn't exactly have time to be cracking jokes.  _Or acting out jokes,_ thought Rowan, glancing at her friend, as the case may be.

The girls had been very careful to always have the other awake during the night, ever since they moved away from the Great River—especially since the freaky Gandalf lecture dream.  While the information and advice had been most welcome, Mia had theorized that it might be dangerous to let that sort of thing happen when they were in Mordor, or close to the dreaded country.  Rowan had agreed.

Therefore, while Mia was probably dreaming about penguins doing the cha-cha (or whatever she dreamt about these days), Rowan kept herself wide-awake as best she could.

However, the girls ought to have assumed that if certain people wanted to talk with them during dreams, said people would make sure both girls were asleep.

Rowan dropped off into a doze a good hour after Mia did.

_This time, the girls knew they were actually sharing a dream and that they were probably going to get some sort of lecture (again).  Except Mia was far more laid back about it (she was the one who was supposed to be asleep, after all) and Rowan looked around agitatedly.  And then realized something.  "Okay, that's familiar, Mia's sitting on a desk, and look, pictures of cats," Rowan muttered, looking around the room they were in.  It was a bit fuzzy in appearance—typical of dreams—but definitely familiar.  "Mia?"_

_"Um-hmm?"_

_"Oh, get off the desk!" said Rowan, rolling her eyes._

_Mia looked around, yelped, and leapt off the desk.  "Sheesh, first I was running away from a bunch of horses—now I'm in school?!"_

_"Looks like," Rowan replied dryly.  "English classroom, modern times as per us…unless I'm missing something."_

_"I…I think we are in…the classroom," said Mia, worried.  "But, uh, why…?"_

_"Well, of course you're here," said a light male voice.  "And you can probably guess why."_

_The girls whirled around to see a man standing behind them, looking greatly amused._

_"Mr. _Little_?" both said in unison._

_"You were expecting Brad Pitt?" Mr. Kevin Little, the girls' senior English teacher, joked_.

_Neither girl knew what to say._

_"My, my, you both seem so lost.  Well, seeing as this is a dream, then I must be out of your minds," he said with a smile that said so much more.  Rowan wondered.  "So that means I know what's going on.  I'll give you a bet of advice.  When you walk through the marshes, watch my steps."_

_"What?" Mia said before she disappeared._

_"What the!" Rowan said._

_Mr. Little said, "It is her turn.  Time to go."_

With that, the dream ended (for Rowan) and she opened her eyes to see the slightly lightened sky.  Mia was already up, looking extremely freaked out.  _Guess she doesn't dream about school that much_…  "Good morning," Rowan said cheerily.

Mia goggled at her, and then shook off any complaints she had about early risers that were cheerful about it.  "Whatever.  I take it you had the same dream?"

"English classroom and Mr. Little playing cryptic guy?  Yep," said Rowan.

"That's good…more or less."  Mia shook her head, stood, and stretched.  And then dodged her horse.  "That mare drives me bonkers," she muttered, and turned back to her friend.  "What did it mean, Rowan?"

"I have no idea, Mia," Rowan replied, getting to her feet.  "Mr. Little doesn't always make sense in the real world—why would it be any different in dreams?"

"He makes sense," Mia objected.  Rowan gave her a look.  "Okay, okay, at times he can be cryptic, I suppose.  But we both dreamed the cryptic thing—again, and also when you were supposed to be watching—"

Rowan said, "Hey, it's the English teacher's fault!"

"Don't blame him!  Even if…never mind," muttered Mia, looking a big frustrated by the whole situation.  Or maybe just because her horse was trying to take a bite out of her, again.  "The dream can't have meant nothing…right?"

_Food for thought_.  It definitely meant something, since that sort of dream hadn't happened since the Gandalf lecture dream and Middle-Earth was the sort of land where one had to take dreams at face value.  _Lucky us,_ thought Rowan, shaking her head.  "You're right," she said.  "You tell me what it means."

Mia snorted.  "Since when am I a dream translator?  Okay, it was important, but it was cryptic, and I say it means that we should get a move on and tread carefully."

"Tread carefully?" Rowan repeated.

"Do not mock my phrasing!" said Mia sternly, and only managed to hold her straight face before snickering a little.

Rowan snickered too.  "If you say so," she said, thinking that there was definitely more to the dream than they knew.  _Then again, we just woke up, our minds are probably not functioning at full power…and we've got all of a half-hour walk to the Dead Marshes to figure out what to do and think about the dream_…

Not the most exciting of processes, but it would have to work.

The two girls broke camp and after a heated discussion about the merits of taking the horses into the swamp (Rowan was for it, Mia was against), decided that they ought to let the horses go.  They were far enough ahead to avoid being spotted by the hobbits and Randy was probably still having problems.  "After all," said Rowan as she and Mia stowed the necessary supplies into their packs.  "I did give him a good kick."

"Yeah, in the _cojones_."

"I thought you failed Spanish!"

"Some words you don't forget," said Mia, giving her an evil glare.  "And I didn't fail the vocabulary part, you know."  She lunged to the side suddenly and Rowan reached for the bow on automatic before realizing that Mia was just dodging the bite-happy mares again.

_Honestly, how did she get so unlucky with horses?_ Rowan wondered, setting down the bow.  "Easy girl, and don't make any sudden movements."  That received a muttered response that sounded like 'you _better_ not be talking to the horse.'

Once they were done packing, Rowan took the liberty of sending the two mares off.  Naturally, the equines took their sweet time getting the message and once they did, 'Mia's' mare pranced about a bit.  Mia made a strangled noise as Rowan muttered reluctantly, "Now that that's all taken care of…let's get a move on—what are you on about now?!"

"Is it just me or is my horse practically dancing?" Mia demanded, pointing at the offending mare.

Rowan glanced back at the horses and stifled a laugh.  "It's not just you," she told her friend as she started walking.

"Smeg," Mia muttered, following Rowan towards the Dead Marshes.  "Smegging evil horse…"

"Don't insult the horses."

"I'm well _aware_ that they can hurt me!"

Once they reached the edge of the Marshes, the girls glanced at each other, each one asking if the other wanted to lead.  They settled the matter with rock-paper-scissors, and Mia lost.  Grumbling about unfairness and percentages (she would talk about math at a time like this), the taller girl stomped off into the 'dreaded swampy areas', while Rowan prepared her bow.

One meter in and Mia stopped, a bit lost.  She looked around, wincing a bit at the sights of the 'dead' around her, and glanced down.  She blinked.  "Rowan?"

"What, Mia?" asked Rowan, shooting her friend's back an exasperated look.  It was completely wasted, of course.  "Come on, if we want to—"

"What did Mr. Little say at the very end of our dream?" Mia interrupted.

"Ummmm," said Rowan, a bit confused and very twitchy about the swamps around them, "something about 'watch your steps', I think.  You're the one with the good memory—"

Mia turned slightly to glare at her.  "Not exactly.  And no, he said 'watch _my_ steps.'"

"Okay, soooo?"

Groaning a little, Mia stepped to the side and pointed at the marshy ground.  Light footprints, sort of glowing in the gloom, trailed off into the swamp.  The footprints were of sneakers, looking a bit familiar.  "See?" said the taller girl.

Rowan blinked twice and shook her head, just in case she was hallucinating and Mia was leading her on.  Nope, the footprints were still there when she opened her eyes and now she knew why they looked familiar.  "Wow," she said, "isn't that the kind of sneaker print Mr. Little's shoes make?"

"Yeah, it is," Mia replied, nodding.  "And if you'll notice, they're glowing…"

_Okay, Mia, do not sound like you're an announcer for the_ Twilight Zone.  Rowan considered saying that aloud and decided against it.  "That doesn't make sense!" she exclaimed instead, and looked around hastily, hoping not to meet with any nasties of the Marshes.  Luckily, they were too close to the edge.  "Why Mr. Little?  Hell, why Mr. Little's shoes?"

"Why not?" Mia joked and sighed when Rowan scowled at her.  "I have no idea.  Maybe Gandalf did this to make sure we paid attention.  Maybe Mr. Little's psychic.  I don't know—but at least we know what the dream was."

"Doesn't make this any less eerie," Rowan pointed out.  "I mean, hello!  Twenty-first century regular—"

"Rowan, this place is magic.  Can you go back to suspending your disbelief?"

That was rich coming from the girl that whined about the sacred storyline.  Rowan just shrugged.  "Whatever.  Let's just follow them.  Weaponless girls first."

"I _do_ have a dagger!"

"But do you know how to use it?"

Mia began muttering again as she followed Mr. Little's shoeprints and Rowan followed, bow drawn and snickering.

~*~*~*~

All of that day, Rowan and Mia traveled across the southern part of the Dead Marshes, carefully keeping their eyes on the glowing footprints that preceded them.  On occasion, Rowan looked around to make sure they weren't being hunted, but always returned to watching where the footprints led and where Mia was going.  Safer that way.

There were two reasons for their doing this.  For one, without a guide, they could easily get lost and perish in the marshes, which would more or less screw their mission over.  The other reason was because they were both well aware of what they would see if they looked anywhere else.

There is a reason they are called the Dead Marshes.  If a traveler looks too closely at any part of them, they will see the dead rise and that is not a pretty sight.  At least, that was what the girls had read and what Mia remembered very clearly, much to her imagination's horror.  The girls both figured that, since everything else they had seen was either more beautiful or more gruesome than they had imagined, the Dead Marshes were going to seem pretty sickening to them.  They were not going to look around any more than they had to.

By nightfall, they thankfully left the Marshes behind them.

Except now, Rowan and Mia faced one of the longest and steepest flights of stairs they'd ever seen.  Normally, they would have stopped to make camp, since it was evening and they were tired of walking, but the girls both knew that Frodo, Sam, and Gollum were not stopping at all that night.

The girls had to keep moving.

~*~*~*~

"Umm, Mia?" Rowan said, as she looked up the mountainside.  It was a lot bigger than the books had said—but then again, an entire chapter had been devoted to Sam and Frodo's climb up the mountain.  Maybe she'd misjudged the actual height of the mountain.

"What," said Mia, looking behind at the Marshes.  Actually, she glared balefully at that horrid place, knowing that she would have some pretty nasty nightmares in the near future.  "We really should be moving, unless you want someone to find us."

"Who would…" Rowan stopped, shaking her head.  "Never mind, I just think we should…umm…make our loads a little lighter."

"Oh."  Mia could have kicked herself for not thinking of that herself.  Boy, was she being an idiot.  "Good idea."  She set her pack down and began sorting through what she was carrying.

Rowan did the same, kneeling on the dusty ground.  "So what do we take?" she muttered, more to herself than Mia.  "Well, my bow, arrows, and sword of course…"

"Always the fighter."

"And don't you forget it, book girl!"

"Ow, you wound me…don't look at me like that, that was a good joke."  Rowan frowned and Mia hastily went back to looking at her pack.  They had put most of the essential supplies into hers, except for the flint for making fires.  (Which was good, since Mia kept burning her fingers.)  "Let's make sure to keep my _Guide to Middle Earth_, 'cause Lord knows we're gonna need it, the book Galadriel gave me," said Mia, taking those two objects out, "and all of the _lembas_ we have left."

"What about your dagger?" Rowan inquired, grabbing one of the packs and putting the supplies into them.  Mia pointed at her belt and the more-action oriented girl nodded approvingly.  "Good for you.  I'll carry all the weapons, you carry the pack."

"Why do I think I'm going to feel like a mule?" Mia said dryly.

"Don't know," said Rowan cheerfully, finishing loading up the remaining pack.  She shot the supplies they were leaving behind a wary look, but figured that they were innocuous enough.  _Hobbits and _Gollum_ probably won't even notice_…  "But you might need a lot of therapy."

Mia snorted.  "Yeah, watch my eyes twitch later."  She picked up the pack and thankfully didn't fall over.  "Let's hit them stairs!" she said enthusiastically.

"You are weird."

"There's a newsflash."

And so they began their ascent, towards the only entrance to Mordor they dared take.

~*~*~*~

The girls spent most of the night climbing the mountain, while on the lookout for Orcs or the stray Uruk-Hai.  Even though they seriously wanted to spend nighttime sleeping, they had to keep climbing, to stay ahead of…well…everyone.

There had been no sign of Randy since before the Marshes.  Both girls mentioned this only once, getting a sinking feeling as they did so.  The wannabe-Nazgul was either planning something or a bit more delicate than they thought.  Probably not the latter.

Speaking of delicate, Mia discovered that her mild hiking experience had not prepared her for climbing up a mountain that Tolkien had dedicated an entire chapter to.  _I am going to die,_ she thought more than once when she stopped to take breathers.  _I am so going to die and it isn't going to be pretty_…

Rowan always yanked her to her feet at that point of thought, and Mia kept climbing resolutely.  She felt glad that she'd kept her sneakers, which were serving remarkably well—not quite as comfortable as hiking boots would be, but definitely all right for the time being.

Some few hours until dawn, Mia stopped and bent over slightly, her hands on her knees.  The pace had increased at last a half-hour ago, and she was having some trouble breathing.  _Probably the altitude_, she thought, feeling somewhat analytical.  "Rowan," she said, half-wheezing the name.  "Please…tell me…that we are almost to the top."

Rowan paused, also breathing a bit heavily, and squinted up the mountain.  She had of course taken the lead early on.  "I think we are," she said finally, sounding triumphant.

"Oh."  Mia collapsed onto the stairs, finally giving in to her aching feet.  "Good grief, I've never climbed like this before!"

"Fun, isn't it," said Rowan with a smirk.

Mia glared.  "Ha-ha, Rowan."

"Get up, we have to keep walking."

"Who are you, Papa Mouse-kiwitz?!"

But Mia got up and kept walking, finding the energy to snicker over referencing one of her favorite movies.  Rowan just gave her a look that said she was mental.  What else was new?

~*~*~*~

Samwise Gamgee did not like traveling with the sneaking Gollum, but refrained from making as many complaints as he wished.  The creature had gotten them out of the horrid Dead Marshes, gotten them to the mountain, and Mr. Frodo trusted Gollum for the time being.  That was enough to keep Sam quiet…for the time being.

At the foot of the mountain, Frodo and Gollum conversed (a _relative_ term, given Gollum's dialect), and the loyal gardener wandered ahead to the mountain.

"Mr. Frodo, Mr. Frodo!" Sam yelled from just a few feet away from the mountain, feeling very surprised.

"What is it, Sam?" Frodo asked, walking over with the muttering Gollum at his heels.

"Look."  Sam pointed to a bag with a bit of traveler's food and some Man-sized clothing in it.  "Unusual, wouldn't you say, to find these thigns here?  In this place?"

"Sam, maybe a traveler left it here," said Frodo logically.  "We cannot be the first people to go come here."

"But, Mr. Frodo, who would travel so close to Mordor and…Oh!  Look, Mr. Frodo, quickly!" Sam said as he pointed to the top of the flight of stairs they would soon be climbing.  He could see figures up there, indistinguishable

Frodo looked up.  "What?  Sam, I know it is a long climb but it's not going anywhere."

"But…but I saw someone, just now, go over to the top," said Sam, puzzled.

"Doubtful," said Frodo, looking a bit uneasy.  Sam thought that was perhaps because of the Ring.  It had been weighing his master down a bit of late.  The Ringbearer shook his head quickly and smiled at his friend.  "Sam, would you please relax, just a little?"

"All right, Mr. Frodo, if you feel it wise" Sam said, still giving the mountain an odd look.

To be Continued in Chapter Twelve, in which Rowan meets a big spider, Mia talks to Gollum, and there are Orcs.  Ooh, things could get troublesome…  Please leave any sort of review by clicking on the little box below.

Yavanna – thanks for the comment, and we do try to get the chapters up as soon as possible.  But RL is something of a bitch…thanks for checking up on the story.  We'll try to get them out a bit faster.

gaile – we're glad we made your day. *grin* and also glad that you like the Randy-bashing.  Hope this chapter was all right.


	13. Chapter Twelve Hostile or not Negotiati...

When the Worlds Cross

By Heather and Jane

_Disclaimer_: Middle-Earth and its peoples belong to the great J.R.R. Tolkien.  Mia, Rowan, and Randy belong to us.  Any and all similarities to real life events/people are pure coincidence—unless they appear with permission.

_Summary_: Things change as Mia negotiates with Gollum and Orcs, and Rowan with spiders.  Though 'negotiate' may not be the right word for it…

_Authors' Notes_: co-written between Jane and Heather, two Lord of the Rings fans that are trying to keep true to the story.  First part more movieverse than bookverse, but will soon go to bookverse.  Credit to Heather's father and our friend Wesley as story consultants.

_Warning:_ Heavy spoilers for the end of Two Towers and the beginning of Return of the King.

References and quotes include a mocking of a _Spaceballs_ quote and a reference to _My Little Pony: The Movie_.  If we missed any, let us know.

Reader thanks following chapter.

Chapter Twelve

Hostile (or not) Negotiations

~*~*~*~

After twelve hours of straight climbing, with breaks that only lasted for about three minutes, Rowan and Mia finally reached the top of the mountain—and were perilously close to the passage of Cirith Ungol.  Rowan paused to frown at the passage thoughtfully.

Mia only collapsed, sighing happily.  "Thank Heaven!  We are _done_ with climbing that monstrosity!"

"Okay," said Rowan, giving her a look, "but we can't stop now.  I saw a trio way down a the bottom of the mountain and three guesses on who it is."

"I'll not guess," Mia muttered, groaning as she got to her feet again.  "Man, I so am going to need therapy…ooh."  She winced, looking at Cirith Ungol with dread.  "Umm…Rowan…"

"Is there something wrong?" Rowan asked innocently.

Mia gave her a dirty look.  "Well, for one," she said, with a touch of sarcasm in her tone, "there would be the wee problem of a spider named Shelob…"

"Oh.  Well."  Rowan shrugged lightly, glancing back down the mountain.  "Gollum's going to be here any time now, and the only way through is…ah, great.  Shelob's Lair."  And she'd just been thinking of how they were going to sneak through, not what they were going to do about the sneaky Smeagol's planning with the spider and the end results of that alliance.  _If you could call it an alliance, more of a business deal_— Rowan made herself stop thinking that.

"Oh, man."  Mia grimaced.  "What are we going to do?"

Rowan tilted her head, thinking.  _All right, so we have a pair of hobbits that are going to see trouble and a couple of nasties that are going to be trouble…and what can we do to stop it?  Stop it!_  She almost grimaced.  That was messing with the storyline—hold it.  _Am I thinking like Mia?  Eeek, no, no_…  Rowan thought about what she would do about this, and then she grinned evilly.  "I got it," she said, almost happily.  "I so got it and it takes care of a lot of stuff."  Mia looked at her hopefully.  "You distract Gollum—"

"_Smeagol_," Mia corrected her, no longer looking so hopeful.

"—whatever—if he shows up any time soon," Rowan told her.  "Give me the bag, I need to get something."

Mia removed the pack from her back and handed it over, rolling her shoulders slightly in relief.  She asked, "Get what?"

"You'll see. Distract the Stinker, I'll be right back—and not in the horror movie way," she added hastily.  While Mia rolled her eyes, Rowan reached into the bottom of their bag and pulled out a small flashlight.  She twirled it around and turned it on briefly, grinning.  "And you said I was silly for bringing it for theater at school."

"Color me wrong.  What are you going to do and how do I distract Smeagol?" Mia hissed.

Rowan shrugged.  "_You're_ the brains of the outfit.  Tell him you have a fish," she suggested, checking to make sure her sword was easy to unsheathe and heading for the lair of the gigantic spider monster.  "If that doesn't work, get him with your dagger."

Mia gave her an indignant look.  Rowan didn't see it, because she had already disappeared into the darkness leading to Shelob's lair.

Time for a party—provided that she could find the energy for one.

~*~*~*~

It was a long wait, for Gollum to show up and for Rowan to come back.  Mia sat back in a shadowed area, after making sure it was well out of sight of the top of mountain, and took out her book on the Elvish language.  She flipped towards the page she had left off on and began reading, half-keeping an ear out in case there was danger.

There wasn't danger for a while.

Then Mia heard scrambling and some slithering sounds, and hurriedly put the book away, pressing herself back into the shadows.  Someone was here and she seriously doubted that it was the goodhearted hobbits.

"Silly…hobbits keep Precious.  Smeagol get back, yes, my Precious…Shelob…help get Precious back…"

_Oh, good grief_.  Smeagol's whispered inanities were creepier than Tolkien had made them out to be, and a lot more pitiable.  Mia felt sorry for the creature, trapped by his 'addiction' to the One Ring, and then feared for Frodo.  _If everything here is a lot more or a lot less than the books say, she thought, then my favorite hobbit is in serious trouble!_

"…be friendly with Shelob, yesss, my precioussss, we will…"

_As if Frodo and Sam weren't in trouble before!_ Mia's inner voice exclaimed.  _Good grief girl!_

"Shut up, and oh, man," whispered Mia to no one.  "It's Smeagol.  I've got to stop him…" And stop playing Plot Exposition with herself while she was at it, but anything was better than a panic attack.  "What about the story line?"  She glanced at direction of the lair, wondering and fearing.  "What about Rowan?" she mused aloud, not hearing any screams of a horrified teenager or shrieks of an enraged spider.  This might be had.  On the other hand, she could hear Smeagol breathing—and he sounded a lot closer than he had been thirty seconds ago.  _Well, that isn't fair.  All right, here we go…smoke 'em if you got 'em_.  She took a deep breath.  "_Smeagol_!"

The sounds of movement abruptly stopped and Smeagol hissed, "Who's there, Precioussss?"  He slunk a little closer to Mia's hiding place and she winced ever so slightly.  "Who'ssssss there?"

"You don't need to know right now," Mia said in a low voice, wondering if she oughtn't try speaking through her hand or something.  "Know that I see you and I know what you're trying to do."  She felt so stupid hiding in the shadows.  At least her language might work on the creature.  "I advise you not to, if you are aware of consequences."

"Smeagol doessss not care," Smeagol informed her, sounding almost annoyed with the advice.  "Smeagol wants his precious back, will have his precioussss back…"

_So much for talking around it!_  Mia sighed softly and went for bribery, her hand sneaking down to her dagger.  _I do not want to be violent…_  "I'll give you a nice fish if you stop."

"Fish…Smeagol like fish."  He crept closer.  "What Smeagol do for fish?"

_Whoever said a way to a man's heart is through his stomach is probably right,_ thought Mia.  _But this is seriously too easy…am I caring?  Not particularly!_  "All you have to do is not talk to Shelob right now," she said.  "Just go back to the nice hobbits…and come back later if you really need to."

Mia felt the part of her that did not want to follow the sacred storyline (a very _small_ part of her, of course) balk at this, but she ignored it.  She had a very, very unsettling feeling in her gut about what was going on in the cave at that moment, and it was better to cover one's butt in these sorts of situations.

"Yesss…Smeagol do," Smeagol whispered, creeping close enough so that Mia could see his shadow.   Then the creature stopped.  "…where fish?"

"Ummm…" This part Mia hadn't thought about.  Her mind told her that she could either run out to give him the fish or put the fish out later.  _He might try to run into the cave where Rowan the weapon wielder is running around if I do the first and that…would make things bad_.  She frowned.  _Or worse.  Second option, then!_  "You must go back first.  Otherwise, you will not get your nice fish or—" Mia grimaced slightly—"or your Precious."

That got Smeagol's attention and he turned around, half suspicious, half hopeful.  "You help Smeagol get back Precioussss from little hobbits?" he asked, his speech remarkably clearer.

Mia tried not to smile.  What did he think the 'mysterious voice' was, some kind of miracle worker?  "Yes, Smeagol.  You can get Precious back later.  You will have it forever."  _I'm not exactly lying,_ she thought.  _Am I_?  Great, now she was having moral issues over Smeagol—could her life _get_ any weirder?

Thankfully, no one answered that.

"You promise…Smeagol go back, yesss," Smeagol muttered before Mia could say a word.  Okay, what was that? the girl wondered.  "You promise…nice hobbits, go back…" He slinked back towards the shadows and then down the mountain before the girl could even think of not gaping.  "Go back…see nice Shelob later…yessss, promise of fish…"

"Good God, people in Middle-Earth are _gullible_!" Mia exclaimed softly, staring after the admittedly creepy Smeagol—and oddly was reminded of a fantasy book series she used to read.

Moments later, Rowan came out of the cave, looking very happy.

"What were you doing?" Mia snapped, getting to her feet and wincing as her somewhat cramped muscles protested.

"Taking care of something," Rowan said coolly as she put her bow back over her shoulder.

Mia knew _that_ look.  "What did you do, Rowan?" she asked sharply.

"I took care of Shelob for the time being," said Rowan, smiling innocently.

"You didn't _kill_ her, did you?"

"Of course not," said Rowan, looking annoyed.  "That would be a really big change."  Mia sighed with relief, slumping against the wall.  "And you would so totally flip.  I just…maimed her severely, that's all."

"What!" Mia yelped, her eyes widening.  _That is so not good, that is so not good, eek, no, no, we messed with the storyline_…  "Rowan!  How…." She only barely managed to keep her voice from going high pitched—hysterical reactions weren't something they needed.  "You've already changed a lot!  You got rid of her before she bit Frodo!   You changed the story—you…you messed with the sacred storyline!"

Rowan rolled her eyes.  "For one, we already changed the storyline by being here.  Remember Randy?  Evil big Randy the Nazgul wannabe?  And for another thing," she went on, cutting Mia off before a response could be formed, "if Frodo got bitten, you'd go all hysterical and spastic, and we'd never get to Mount Doom on time.  Do you _really_ want that to have happened?"

"Errr…well, when you put it that way…" Mia sighed.  She hadn't liked that part of the story much—had her actually yelling at her book when she'd first read it.  Not that it was unusual for her to dislike scenes in books, but that one had just taken the cake.  Just taken the cake.  "I guess you're right, but not totally," she admitted and Rowan grinned proudly.  "And I took care of Smeagol, thank you for asking."

Rowan nodded.  "Excellent.  I take it you didn't necessarily negotiate with him?"

"Not exactly," said Mia dryly, and her friend laughed.  _Yeah, yeah, very much funny—just what did she do with the spider?_  "So," she went on, "what did you do to Shelob?"

"How about I tell you later," suggested Rowan.

Mia eyed her for a moment before shrugging.  So much for the idea that a high from a fight led to bragging.  "So, now what?"

"We keep going," Rowan replied, checking her arrow supply nonchalantly.  Mia took the hint and went looking through her pack—where did she put the bloody smoked fish they'd made a few nights back?  "Unless you'd like to meet up with the hobbits and Gollum…"

"_Smeagol_."

"Whatever…'cause if we do that," Rowan mused, "the right people won't be at the right place at the right time."

"Right, and without Smeagol, the Ring will never be destroyed."  Mia paused, thinking about this.  "Unless we butt in, but I really, really don't want to do that because I think I read something—"

"Okay, okay, I get the point," Rowan cut her off, wincing slightly.  "Bad idea to butt in because we changed so much, yada yada.  So let's…why are you putting down a fish thing?" she exclaimed.

Mia gave her a look as she set down the smoked fish—it was not going to be much of a loss for them, since they still had the _lembas_ and that bit of 'fresh' food had stunk too.  _Hope that Smeagol doesn't mind the fact that it's cooked_…  "I said I'd give Smeagol a fish if he went back to the hobbits."

Rowan's jaw dropped.  "Good grief.  That plan worked?"

"Yes."

"Huh.  Now, let's go—and no freaking out."

Mia gave her an annoyed look.  "I will not freak out."

"Yeah, right," muttered Rowan, and Mia got that same sinking feeling in her stomach.  How badly (or not badly) had the spider been maimed?  _Oh, well, I guess I'll find out soon enough_…  The girls began to walk into the pass.  "Hey, Mia?"

"Yeah, Rowan?" the taller girl said, peering through the shadows uneasily.  _We so should have waited for Frodo and his mystical nightlight, we so should have_…  She paused.  _Mystical_ nightlight_?  Oh, I am losing it_…

"What do we do when we get to the other side?"

Mia frowned at her friend.  "What do you mean?"

"_Orcs_," Rowan said, exasperated.

"Ohh…" Mia winced.  She'd forgotten about those.

"Yeah, ohhh," Rowan mocked lightly.  "It's not like we can go invisible."

"Right…Orcs have guards, right?" asked Mia, an insane plan started to take seed in her mind.

Rowan blinked.  _What_?  "Uh, yeah, I guess so," she said carefully, wondering where this was going.  "Why?"

"And the Orc guards are kinda…alone?" Mia went on, trying not to grin gleefully.

"Probably—why?" Rowan demanded.

"I have a plan."

"Brilliant," said Rowan dryly, grabbing Mia's arm and preventing movement for a moment.  There was utter silence and the girls continued walking, this time a bit more cautiously.  The shadows lessened a little after a moment and the girls could make out the other's form, just barely.  This was somewhat of a relief.  "Um, what's your plan?"

Mia shrugged, affecting an air of casualness.  "Well, it's no rally the denizens of Flutter Valley and Ponyland to defeat the Smooze type of plan, but it involves something called cynicism," she said lightly, and then smirked evilly.  "And blunt objects."

Rowan stared.  "You're _insane_."

"Exactly—they're not expecting that!" Mia exclaimed.

"No.  No way," Rowan stated firmly, halting.

"Yes, yes way," the other girl countered, likewise stopping and frowning.  "I know it'll work."

Rowan and Mia stared each other down, until Rowan said, "Okay, why not?  Can't be any worse than a _logical_ plan."

Mia frowned, somewhat offended.

"Let's do it."  There was a sound behind them, very much like one someone climbing would make—and it was a bit too loud and close to just be an echo.  The girls exchanged panicked looks.  "And now!" Rowan finished.

"Aye-aye, sir!"

The girls ran for the other end of the passage.  And two hobbits and one Gollum creature were left puzzled by a somewhat maimed and incapacitated spider—though Smeagol was quite happy with the discovery of an abandoned fish and the prospect of getting his Precious back 'forever.'

~*~*~*~

"You do realize," Rowan said conversationally as the girls stopped to take a breather.  "That it will be somewhat difficult to get the Orc's attention or to distract them from the fact that we are small, female, and smell nice—and therefore, not Orcs?"

Mia waved a hand dismissively.  "Got that part all figured out, don't worry.  By the way, what did you do to Shelob?"

"Well, I tried negotiating," Rowan said, remembering her less-than stellar idea of trying to talk the gigantic monster into walking away.  _Speaking of walking away, who let Mia decide when we start moving again?  Argh!_  She hurried after her friend.  "That failed, so I resorted to hostile ideas.  A few arrows in the eye, in the knee, and whoosh, the spider was a bit gone."

"That seems too easy."

Rowan gave Mia an annoyed look.  "I'm making it sound easy so you don't flip," she said patiently, and the other girl frowned for a moment before nodding.  _'Cause we don't need that while going into _Mordor_—jeez, are we in trouble—and while watching for Randy the Evil Nazgul_.  "And that's what happened.  Basically.  And what's your plan?"

"Simple, brilliant, and it involves disguising ourselves as Orcs," said Mia cheerfully.

Rowan jerked to a stop.  "Okay, _what_?!"

~*~*~*~

Mia peered around a rock-face corner, and nodded in satisfaction.  "We have Orcs.  Two Orc guards.  Count 'em, two."

"Do I need to remind you that you don't speak Orc-ish?" Rowan hissed from a higher point.  Upon their discovery of where the gang of Orcs was hiding, the girls had immediately decided to split up—with Mia on the ground and Rowan at some point above her.  The first still wasn't too happy with this, as she was still fairly terrible with weapons and knew darn well that Rowan wasn't exactly as fast as Legolas was with a bow.

She would be, of course—just not quite yet.

"Don't need to.  Come on, ya thought I didn't think of that?  Don't answer.  Ready?"  Mia ignored the 'wha' look and stepped back behind the rock face, clearing her throat softly.  _All right, here we go…and hope we stay alive!_  She said an Elvish challenge phrase, one that the book had said was usually called before charging into battle with Orcs—lucky them.  There was a scramble, prompting Rowan to raise her bow, and Mia held up a hand.  "Five, four—"

_FFFT_!  _FFT_!

"—three too early!"  Mia covered her eyes, groaning.  "Are they dead?  Did you have to shoot them in the eyes?"

"Yes and yes," snapped Rowan, scrambling down from the ledge with one eye open for the rest of the Orc group.  No sign of them so the girls were free to do their job, as Mia was already doing.  _Ewww_…  "This was one of your weirdest ideas yet," Rowan grumbled as the two salvaged the Orc armor—or at least enough of it so that they wouldn't look human.  "And this stuff _smells_."

"Oh, deal with it.  Ideas are the only thing I can come up with around here."  Mia grinned, setting the stinky helmet on her head.  It was a true testament to her quirkiness on how she would refuse to wear boots but would willingly put on an Orc helmet.  "Let's go trick some Orc idiots."

Rowan had to sigh.  Mia's plan involved sending the Snaga Orc gang all the way to some other Orc army, or at least well out of the hobbits' path to Mount Doom.  The plan depended on the Orcs not wondering about two funny sounding Orcs and a lack of cynics in the gang.  Mia seemed certain that there would be _no_ cynics within a fifty mile radius (unless Sauron or a wizard or an elf was closer than they thought) and that her plan would work.

For some reason, Rowan doubted it.

"Oh, FYI," said Mia, her voice a bit muffled, "let me do the talking."

"What?"

Mia gave her a dirty look—or so Rowan suspected.  The Orc helmets were evil looking enough, and it was somewhat difficult to see the face under them.  "Just let me do the talking," said Mia, in a raspy, evil voice that wasn't hers at all.  Rowan blinked.  "See?"

"Where—"

"Two words; Action figures."  Mia had to be grinning now.  "Let's do it."

"I seem to remember a time when you feared saying that phrase above anything else," Rowan grumbled as she followed Mia down to the Orc army, the armor clunking and dragging at her arms.

"Times change."

"No duh."

~*~*~*~

Darkness and the land of Mordor provided the perfect cover for a slightly rogue group of Orcs.  Why they had strayed from the main army—aside from the tip about the hobbits—was anyone's guess, but neither Rowan or Mia did any questioning.  As per request, Rowan was answering in grunts and Mia was using the talents left from years of playing action figure games with her cousins.

Of course, that talent did not necessarily come in handy when Snaga retorted, "We will not!" in response to Mia's suggestion that the Orcs just leave and meet the larger army that would be passing through soon.

"It is a suggestion that the Lord Saruman…or Sauron…himself would approve of," Mia said in a near growl.  Covering all the bases, yes, she was.

"And we should believe two lowly guards?"

"Would the hobbits dare come that way?  Why not that blasted Gap of Rohan?"

The Orcs glared.

_All right, time for direct measures and a Seriously Evil voice_.  (Why was she envisioning that in capital letters?)  Mia said in a deep tone, "_Just leave us_!"

Rowan looked at her like she was crazy.  She ignored that—and not just because she was used to it, because she _wasn't_ acting crazy at this moment in time and it was a part of the plan.

"If the Dark Lord wishes for us to go," one Orc soldier began tentatively.  "Then maybe—"

"No!" Snaga snapped.

"It's a better idea!"

"No it isn't!"

"What, to leave this boring land with little loot?"

"Well, no, that's not the bad idea, but the bad idea is to—"

"To what?" Mia interjected.  "To take initiative?  Doesn't Lord Saruman want you to do that?  Wouldn't the Dark Lord approve?"

"No!" one of the other Orcs snapped.

Snaga threw a weapon in his direction.  Mia and Rowan leapt back.  "Silence!  I will keep order in this group!"

"Order?"

"Yes, order!"

"Then should we leave?  It's boring and the blasted little folk aren't going to—"

Now the argument was getting weird.  Rowan had, by this point, gotten that look of  'oh god we are done for now' and was ready to pull her sword.  Mia could see her hand inching towards it and wished that there were a way to just shut them up.

Maybe there was.  Mia interrupted again (Snaga looked ready to strangle her).  "Does the Eye not employ odd forms of extending his will?" she said, a bit desperately.  _Please let them have seen the Eye of Sauron, please let them have seen the Eye of Sauron_…  She and Rowan hadn't seen that—except in nightmares—but didn't doubt that it lurked just around the corner for them.

Now Snaga looked intrigued.  He turned to the rest of the band and muttered in the Orc language, which Mia didn't even pretend to understand.  Rowan was still sword-happy.  _Relax, relax,_ the taller girl thought, just as the leader of the looters announced, "Fine, because of two persistent guards—"

"Urk!?" Rowan grunted in disbelief.

Mia resisted the urge to step on her foot.

"—that won't relent, we'll go off to the gates of Mordor, or to where the nearest part of the army awaits."  _Whooo_! Mia thought happily, nearly doing a little dance.  She restrained herself, thankfully.  "But you two meddlesome soldiers will stay behind and take care of the hobbits should they arrive, eh?"

"What about Shelob?"

"Deal with the spider as well."

A moment of surprised and gleeful silence passed.

"Go!" Snaga roared.

The girls ran back for the pass of Cirith Ungol, trying their hardest not to laugh.

~*~*~*~

"I can't believe that _worked_," whispered Rowan, shucking the stinking Orc helmet and the rest of the salvaged armor.  Mia just smiled at her.  _I will not admit that she is right,_ thought Rowan resolutely.  _Not until this is over_…  A few moments of silence—well, not quite silence, since one of them would giggle about the Orc situation at the odd moment—passed before Rowan thought of something.  "Hey, shouldn't we make sure Gollum's okay?  I mean, what if Randy got to him…"

"Rowan, first off, don't worry so much," Mia cut her off, dusting off the front of her shirt.  Rowan couldn't see why she would bother doing that.  "For another thing, Randy got 'side-tracked' a few days ago, if I remember right.  And with Shelob no longer a problem, we're ahead of schedule.  That should make things a bit hard on Randy, especially because he doesn't know what we're doing and probably wants to make a dramatic entrance at Mount Doom."  That last part made sense, knowing Randy, Rowan had to admit.  "And lastly, it's _Smeagol_."

"Whatever," said Rowan dismissively, getting her bow at the ready.  The girls were keeping watch on the Orc group from a higher vantage point, and it looked as if they wouldn't have any problems.  "What do we do once we're at Mount Doom?"

Mia winced.  "Ah, ground zero.  I think we should just let things play out and make sure that Randy doesn't interfere."

"And make sure that he doesn't try to kill us before we interfere," said Rowan.

"Interfere with _what_?"

"His plans!"

"Oh."  Mia looked a bit sheepish.  "Hey, Rowan, should we let Frodo and Sam know we're here?"

"_No_!  We won't let them know until the Ring is destroyed," Rowan said sternly.  "Or…around that time, anyway."

"Why can't we tell them?" Mia asked, pouting a little.

"Because, Mia, it might make things go wrong.  Sam might think to relax, Frodo might go really mean and not even Gollum—_don't say a word_—could stop him, and so forth," Rowan said impatiently.  "And do you really want that?"

Mia shook her head no.

"I didn't think so."

"Oh, be quiet and it's _Smeagol_," replied Mia with a sigh.

"Shut up!"

Despite that less than polite statement, the argument was settled and the girls resumed their trek to Mount Doom.  Keeping an eye out for the stray Orc, Uruk-Hai, or Nazgul, since the days of darkness were getting more and more frequent.  Especially in Mordor.

To Be Continued in Chapter Thirteen, where everything bad happens all at once.  Please leave any form of commentary by clicking on that little 'review' option below.

Midnight – thank you very much.  We're glad you like.

Yavanna – thanks for the comment. *smile* Here's another long chapter…probably our longest yet, actually. *O_O* Next one hopefully coming soon…

Laicalasse – thanks.  As said, always good to know that people like this story.


	14. Chapter Thirteen Everything at Once

When the Worlds Cross

By Heather and Jane

_Disclaimer_: Middle-Earth and its peoples belong to the great J.R.R. Tolkien.  Mia, Rowan, and Randy belong to us.  Any and all similarities to real life events/people are pure coincidence—unless they appear with permission.

_Summary_: Everything bad starts to happen all at once…and preparations for darkness may or may not go through.

_Authors' Notes_: co-written between Jane and Heather, two Lord of the Rings fans that are trying to keep true to the story.  First part more movieverse than bookverse, but will soon go to bookverse.  Credit to Heather's father and our friend Wesley as story consultants.

_Warning:_ Heavy spoilers for the end of Two Towers and the beginning of Return of the King.

References and quotes included two quotes from Disney's _Atlantis: the Lost Empire_ and Disney's Snow _White_.  Plus a reference to _Star Wars_, the WWF, and Madonna's song _Beautiful Stranger_.  (Yes, there is a reason for all of that.) If we missed any, let us know.

Reader thanks following chapter.

Chapter Thirteen

Everything At Once

~*~*~*~

It was time to consider his options.  Randy was beyond angry at his former friends for what they did—delaying him and speaking in roundabout circles when he had tried to spy on them before the fight.  Not to mention getting hit with an arrow.  There was just no getting over that, even if it had been a blunt arrow.  Time to retaliate against the meddlers.

A part of Randy protested this.  A very small part, of course; the one that still cared about his friends and worried about the outcome of the battle, which was turning dark.  Randy ignored this small, insignificant bit of himself (was it called a conscience?)  _I suppose I could just kill Gollum,_ he thought to himself as he urged his retrieved steed to Mount Doom.  _But then the girls would interfere and make certain that the blasted Ringbearer drops the One Ring into the fire…_

He would have to 'take care' of both of the girls, and then deal with the hobbits and the Gollum creature.  A simple plan, granted, but…  _Don't simple plans often work best?_

Randy rather thought so.

The part of him that had been protesting went oddly quiet.

~*~*~*~

Dark times had at last descended upon Middle Earth.  Aragorn, the brave man, had taken command of the armies of elves, men, and had led them to the borders of Mordor.  Gimli was no less ready to fight for the freedom of Middle-Earth than he had been back when the quest had started (it seemed so long ago), when the Fellowship had been solid and the hobbits innocent and Legolas was still a 'blasted elf', not a friend.

And said friend was not appearing as if he worried anymore, but Gimli knew that the elf prince was concerned about where Rowan and Mia had ended up at.  All knew that Frodo and Sam had gone on to the dreaded Mount Doom and were probably nearly there by then (Gimli hoped—the Ring needed to be destroyed now and fast, if the upcoming battle was of any indication).  And Merry and Pippin were among the soldiers of the army, having come quite a long ways from their prankster beginnings.

Gandalf seemed pleased about this.  And the old wizard was remarkably close-mouthed about where the girls had gotten to when Gimli had asked before the Host had set out to Mordor.  The wizard had only replied, "They are going to where they are needed."

"And is that Mordor?  Or are they in Lorien?" Gimli had asked.

"You know the answer to that."

"Aye, I do, but I think that elf prince back there wishes he doesn't."

"One wishes a lot of things in these times."

And then the wizard had gone to speak with Aragorn, who had taken up the mantle of his heritage at long last.  Gimli knew that had been a long time in coming, as had the defeat of Saruman.

Once this battle was over and they were relaxing victorious (Gimli did not believe that the forces of good would lose), there would be many stories to tell and remember.

~*~*~*~

Journeying through Mordor with only a rather small map (thank God for the Complete Guide) was not fun.  Dodging a few Orc groups was also not fun—and Rowan wondered just what those guys were doing.  The main army was heading for the Gates of Mordor with the Nazgul to do battle with the hosts, if she remembered correctly.

Mia said she was.  Which made Rowan feel just a little guilty about the fun that was waiting for them.

"And…oh, no, no, no.  Not another climb!" Mia exclaimed, interrupting her little explanation on the battle plan and staring up at Mount Doom.  Her face looked drawn with horror and resignation.  "Oh, _noooo_."

"You knew it was going to be here," snapped Rowan, debating pulling out her sword or keeping the bow out.  She opted for the former, in a way—didn't take the sword out, just got it ready.  "So stop whining."

"I was merely speaking for the feet," said Mia, rolling her eyes.  Her sneakers were actually holding up pretty well.  Rowan made a note to ask where they'd been bought.  "Now that we're here, what do we do?"

"Well…we need to get to the cave that Frodo will—"

"I know _that_," said Mia, exasperated, "but are we going up now or do we want to wait until the rest get here?"

Rowan frowned thoughtfully.  "Oh, I see what you mean."  She considered this, while Mia grumbled about swords and scanned the area for Randy.  No sign of him—and that was pretty bad.  He had to be coming soon, because the hobbits (and Gollum) were almost at the dreaded mountain.  "Just in case it changes the outcome, we should not let Frodo know we're here," she said at last.  "Least they know, the better."

Mia nodded.  "Fine, but how exactly do we accomplish that and still manage to keep the ever not punctual Randy from offing someone?"

"I say we go up until we find a hiding place…there's gotta be one somewhere around here," Rowan mused, trying not to laugh at the correct assessment of Randy.  The boy-turned-Nazgul was only punctual when it was class time.  "Then wait and see who comes by.  Once Frodo, Sam and Gollum—don't say it, Mia—go by, we'll follow to keep an eye out for Randy and make sure that everything turns out the way it is supposed to."  She took a deep breath.  "Whoa, I talk a lot."

"Yes, you do, but it sounds like a good plan."  Mia eyed the steep mountain, not happy in the least.  "Let's get moving, no time like the present."  She paused.  "Oh, and Rowan?"

"Yeah?"

"It's '_Smeagol_.'"  Mia started climbing up the mountain, laughing.

Rowan glared at her.  "I _said_ don't say it."

~*~*~*~

Sam could not help but worry almost frantically about his master—once again.  Frodo seemed to be getting weaker as they progressed to the foot of Mt. Doom.  _Oh, dear, and I thought that getting rid of the Stinker and his mumbling would do us better_…  "Master Frodo, are you all right?"

"The Ring.  It weighs down heavily…"

"Perhaps I should hold it for a—" Sam began, quite logically he supposed.  But Frodo got such a fearful look on his face.  _Oh, no,_ Sam thought as Frodo denied the request.  _Is the Ring corrupting him?_  Sam hoped not.  It would make the task all the more difficult.

"Here we are," said Frodo, looking up at the mountain gloomily.  It looked larger when one was standing at the foot, Sam noted, than it had in the distance.  "It is…"

"Almost over, no thanks to that Stinker!" said Sam vehemently.  He still felt as if they were being followed, for all that he'd chased Gollum off.  "He meant for that spider to kill you."  But someone had already gotten to the spider, with things of Elvish make.  Sam wondered who that could be almost constantly (almost as much as he worried about Frodo).  None of the others in the Fellowship would know of their exact path to Mount Doom…except the girls, of course.  But why would the girls go to Mordor?  That was not logical and they were smarter than that.

Sam hoped.

Frodo stumbled.  Sam helped him up.  "Come on, Master Frodo, it is almost over."

"Yes, I know," Frodo nodded wearily.

_Oh, dear_.  It was time to truly inspire the Ringbearer, even if Sam felt a little guilty about what he was about to say.  The gardener said cheerfully, "And when it is, we will be able to see everyone again and we will have so much to say—they'll want to hear of all our adventures, you know."

"Yes…even Mia?"

Sam nodded, trying not to smile.  "Yes."

"She said she could not say if I lived or died," Frodo said unexpectedly.  Sam blinked at him, perplexed.  His master had never mentioned this before, and the strangeness and histories that Mia had spoken off had been mentioned more than once on the journey.  One would think that that would have been spoken of!  "And I have wondered—"

"Mr. Frodo, you will live.  I am sure of that," said Sam firmly.  "Miss Regan must have been worried about the perils of this journey, nothing more."

"You are certain?"

"Yes.  Now, let us go up this cursed place and finally complete the journey."

Frodo nodded.

And Sam continued to help his master up the side of the mountain.  It was a wearying climb, and at one point, Sam carried Frodo up (all the time unaware of more than one follower) to the crag.  It would be a miracle if Frodo made it to the edge without falling.

At long last, they reached the top, and could see into the inner fires of the mountain.  Even they looked evil, like the cursed afterlives some spoke of.  Sam said, "Here we are—you can finally get rid of that awful thing."

"No—no, it's mine, you can't have it!" Frodo yelled suddenly, an expression of twisted dementia on his face.  Sam watched in horror as Frodo put the Ring on and disappeared.

~*~*~*~

Meanwhile, Mia and Rowan had found a small pile of rocks to hide behind and watched as the Ringbearer and his companion (Mia wondered if Sam had had to hold the ring) struggle up the mountain.  Rowan had to restrain Mia from running out to help them at one point, whispering something about scaring the living daylights out of the heroes not being the best of ideas.

And now the two girls were watching as Smeagol ran after the hobbits, intent on stealing back his Precious.  Grateful that she couldn't actually hear what the creature was muttering, Mia glanced back down the mountain almost absently and saw Randy hurrying his butt up Mount Doom, sans horse but with blade.  _Oh gah!  Oh, gah oh gah…this is not _GOOD_…_  For a moment, Mia looked towards the hobbits, but then shook her head, dumping the pack.  She could only see one option that would save the future—and she didn't like it.

"All right, Mia, this is it," she muttered, getting to her feet.  Rowan glanced up, worry crossing her face.  "Any last words?"  Mia sighed.  "Yeah, I really wish I had a better idea!"

Shoving her terror into the back of her mind, Mia raced from the hiding place and actually managed to perform a flying tackle on Randy.  The boy-turned-Nazgul seemed surprised and went down easily enough, but fought back before she had a chance to get her dagger out.  They tumbled down the mountainside, scuffling and wrestling for weapons.

Mia heard Rowan shout after her.  Then she managed to disentangle herself from her former classmate and scrambled to her feet, trying to get a grip on her dagger.  Randy followed suit and Mia stepped back quickly.

That didn't work.

Randy managed to punch her in the face while trying to stab her with the Morgul blade.  _Ow!_ Mia thought indignantly as she crashed to the ground, clutching at her face.  _That _hurt_, you dork_…

And then Rowan appeared, to save the day and the dorky weapon-incompetent girl.  _About time_, Mia thought, rolling over and getting back up.

~*~*~*~

"Mia!" Rowan yelled, drawing her sword.  Her friend paid her no heed and somehow managed to tackle Randy to the ground.  _Oooh, cool…or, not cool,_ she amended as the two fighters started sliding back down the mountainside.

This was just great.  Now she had to save Mia's butt too.  Rowan groaned as she ran after them.  "Great, it's the WWF smack down in Middle Earth!"

And that was a bad joke.  Rowan watched as Randy took the hilt of his Morgul blade and hit Mia in the face.  She fell back as Rowan ran towards Randy the _full_ Ringwraith.  _I knew this was coming, I just knew it…why didn't we _plan_ for this_…

Her ambush might have worked, given the fact that Mia was taking her sweet time getting to her feet and Randy was watching that adversary.  Too bad he saw Rowan coming, otherwise she would have gotten a good clean slice at his side.  What ended up happening was Randy raised his blade and blocked her chance.

"No, you don't," Rowan growled, jerking her sword away and trying to get in another hit.

Randy blocked that one too.  Since when had he gotten so adept at sword fighting?  Rowan didn't remember him taking the fencing classes offered at school…

She could see Mia watching the battle in horror.  Rowan didn't blame her, since it was two of her best friends locked in what looked like a fight to the death.  Maybe Randy was not exactly the person he used to be but he still looked like Randy.

_That doesn't mean anything, though_, Rowan thought as she turned her attention back to the battle that seemed more of a stalemate.

Randy would swing, and Rowan would block.  Rowan would see an opening but Randy was too swift.  Many rounds were spent like this, simply parrying and blocking.  Ever now and then, Randy would get a good swing in but it would only cause a scratch to Rowan—not enough to get her down for the count.  Sometimes she would hit him with the blunt end of her sword.  No real damage was being done at first—which was getting a bit annoying.

Finally, the both of them backed away in pure exhaustion, glaring at each other.  Both had cuts and bruises.  It looked for a moment as if there would be a truce.  But then again, one of them was a Ringwraith.  And the words 'morals' and 'honor' were now unfamiliar to him.

Randy lunged forward without warning and stabbed Rowan in the leg while she tried to regroup her thoughts.  She saw this coming but had no time to react before the Morgul blade reached her.

Just as the blade pierced her skin, they both heard a scream from somewhere up the mountain.  It sounded like Mia.  This distracted Randy just enough to let Rowan thrust up her Elven blade, which she had lowered to waist level.  It went deep into Randy's gut.

Rowan, shocked by what she'd done, pulled the blade free.

Randy fell to his knees, and looked at Rowan with mournful eyes.  She stared back, horrified, and tried to say something, anything.  She couldn't.  Randy continued to stare at her, and then lay down with the hood of his Nazgul cloak covering his face.  Rowan almost cried, believing that she'd killed Randy.

Then something odd happened.  The cloak suddenly flattened, as if the body within it was no longer there.

"What have I done?" Rowan whispered to the wind.

She had no time to grieve or speculate about strange things, though.  As Rowan looked around, she could not find Mia.  And the mountain was starting to shake, just the littlest bit.

_The mission.  Have to complete the mission_.  With a heavy heart and pained leg, Rowan rose to go after Mia.

~*~*~*~

While Rowan and Randy fought it to the death—hopefully _not_—Mia turned slowly and headed back up the mountain to the crag, hoping to see that everything was proceeding smoothly.  She regretted her decision the instant she got within twenty fight of the crag.  Sam had been knocked over and Smeagol was grappling with an invisible force.  Almost too close to the edge.  _Oh gah…this is not happening, this is not happening…_

Smeagol bit down on something that looked a lot like thin air.  Mia let out a shriek—the kind she saved for worse instances than roller coasters—as Frodo became visible again.  Maybe she had shrieked a word; maybe it was simply a wordless scream.  She wasn't sure and didn't really care.  Frodo sank to the ground.

Dimly, Mia heard Sam cry out—it was as if there was an ocean roaring around her ears—at the sight of Frodo's missing finger.

"Myyy Precioussssss," cried Smeagol, holding the One Ring triumphantly.

_Enjoy it while it lasts!_ Mia thought as she ran towards the hobbits, not caring if her eye was throbbing or her left side hurt.  She supposed she may have yelled it but any sound was drowned out as Mount Doom shook and Smeagol toppled over into the fires, screaming all the way.

"Holy H-E-hockey sticks!" Mia muttered, wincing as she skidded to a stop next to the edge.  _Poor Smeagol,_ she thought, once again feeling sorry for the obsessive creature._  What a horrible end to a rather nasty life…and get me away from these fires, yeesh!_

Sam looked at her in shock.  "Mia?!"

Uh-oh.  Mia grinned nervously.  "Uh, yeah?"

"What are you—why did—"

There was another crash and the two of them nearly fell over.  "Love to stay and chat, but we may have to haul _tush_!" Mia yelled over the noises.

Sam nodded, for once not questioning her vernacular, and tugged at Frodo, who was still lying on the ground.  The ex-Ringbearer did not move.  "Mr. Frodo!" the gardener yelled in alarm.

Mia swore extensively, using a vocabulary that her English teacher definitely would not approve of.  Sam stared at her in utter surprise.  "Don't look at me like that.  Frodo's in shock, I just know it!" she said over the sound of the mountain rumbling again.  "Get him up, c'mon!"

She grabbed Frodo's other arm and proceeded to assist Sam in getting Frodo out of the cave.  The incessant shakings of the mountain nearly knocked them off of their feet at least twice, but Sam was determined to get Frodo out and Mia was determined to get both of the hobbits out.  That system worked out fairly well.

On the way to the slopes of Mount Doom, the rather tired trio ran into a rather stunned looking Rowan.  "Hi!" said Mia brightly but sarcastically.  She felt that the hobbits were moving just an iota too slow.  "Sometime _today_, Sam, would be—where the hell is Randy?!"

Stumbling down the mountain with them, Rowan pointed at an empty Nazgul cloak that lay lonely on the dark, shaking ground.  "There," she said simply.

"He disappeared?  He dis-a-_freaking_-peared?" Mia shrieked.  That's it—she was going insane.  "He's not Obi-Wan!"

"Who?"

"Never mind!  I'll tell you later!"  Mia stumbled as they continued to run down the mountain.  She noticed that Rowan was injured and the wound seemed to be causing the shorter girl some trouble, but neither girl said anything about it.  Or they wouldn't have, if Rowan hadn't hissed with pain as she scrambled not to trip over a rock.  And Mia hadn't gone around with blinkers on her eyes or anything like that.  "Morgul?"

"Yep."

Sam winced in sympathy.

"And they say—whoa, Frodo, hello," she said to the former Ringbearer, who looked around blearily.  Being conscious was good.  Being conscious was what he was supposed to be.  "Stay awake.  Stay aw—Sam, he's not staying awake!"

Sam gave Mia an exhausted look.  "Is this bad?"

_He's missing a finger and has gone into shock!  Yes, I would say that this is not a good development!_ she barely restrained herself from screaming.  Though Mia was having a blank on the issue—been a long time since she'd last had a health or first aid class.  "I can't remember.  Probably," she said in a gasp as the four of them finally reached the foot of Mount Doom.  Not that the ground had stopped shaking, but at least they weren't in any danger of falling into the mountain anymore.  "Rowan, what are you—"

Rowan was squinting at the sky.  "'S just me, or are there flying things coming here?" she mumbled before sitting down.

"Wha—yeahhoo!  Eagles!"  Bit early according to her reckoning, but she so did not care at this moment.  "Tell me, Sam," said Mia, looking at the conscious hobbit.  "How is that we're the awake ones?"  She did not say 'unharmed'—Sam looked a bit battered and her eye was throbbing.  _Guess that's what we get for playing the sidekick to their hero…but if Rowan calls me 'Gabrielle' once, she's dead,_ Mia thought.

"I do not know," said Sam, supporting his master and looking up at the huge eagles with surprised eyes.  "Where did they come from?"

Mia racked her brains, knowing that she remembered the exact reason, and came up blank.  "I think Gandalf sent them?" she suggested weakly as the huge birds landed, and Sam nodded approvingly.  "Okay, how do we get on the eagles?"

The eagles (presumably Gwahir and another one) solved the problem by saying one hobbit and one human pair per eagle.  Mia immediately worried about this—Sam wasn't exactly one to leave his master in a time of crisis—but luckily, Sam was all right with this.  "It is all right," he said for the third time as Mia asked if he was sure he trusted her with Frodo.  "Master Frodo is safe with you and it is the right thing to do."  She gave him a puzzled look.  "Helping one's friends," the gardener hobbit elaborated.  "And you cannot worry about all of yours."

"Oh?"

Sam nodded over at Rowan, who had remained mysteriously quiet during the landing of the eagles.  Mia turned to face her friend, a bit worried about why Sam was saying that they had to help all friends.  Wasn't Rowan the one that stayed tough and thought about relaxing or acting silly a little later?

"Hey, Mia, why are you all green with purple spots?" asked Rowan, squinting.

Apparently not.

"What?" Mia shrieked.

"And why is the lava filled with rainbows?" asked Rowan, peering at a river of lava that was flowing way too close to the six of them for the eagles, Mia, and Sam to feel comfortable.  _Frodo, I am so glad that you are unconscious for this_, thought Mia.  "Oooh…they're dancing.  And now they're _pink_."

"Uh," said Mia, helping Sam get Frodo to his feet and staring at her friend in shock.  This was certainly out of the blue.

"Whoa, dude, look at my hand."  Rowan giggled, waving her hand back and forth in front of her eyes.  "So…uh-huh, cool."

Mia smacked her forehead and bit back a yelp.  _Ow, headache_…  This was _so_ not what they needed.  "Good grief, just get on the eagle!" she shouted, finally getting Frodo up.

"What's wrong with her?" asked Sam, looking even more alarmed than he had a moment ago.

"Extremely long story!"

"…_haven't we met, you're some kind of beautiful stranger_," sang Rowan as she followed the orders to get on the eagle with surprising dexterity.  Weren't people that were going delirious supposed to be somewhat clumsy?  "C'mon, Sam, old boy, let's get a move on!  Whee!"

Mia and Sam exchanged looks.  "I think I will make sure she doesn't hurt herself," said Sam wisely.  "And you keep a good eye on Mr. Frodo, Miss Regan."

"Please call me Mia—" _Only I would say that in a time of danger and crisis!_ she thought, bemused—"and yessir!"  She saluted.

"…_hi-ho, hi-ho_…"

Now Rowan was singing a song from _Disney's Snow White?_  Things were getting extremely surreal.  Mia didn't remember Frodo acting like a Morgul stabbing was a drug-trip-from-60's experience.  If she weren't more worried about getting everyone to a safe place at the moment, she'd probably think about having one of her hysterical reactions.

"First, though, we have to get out of Mordor and stay alive," Mia said to herself, "then I can panic."

To Be Continued…in Chapter 14, where we find out if Mia panicked, if they stayed alive, and if the rest survived.  Please leave any form of commentary in the little box below.

Midnight – thank you very much.  This soon enough? *grin*

Yavanna – we're glad you like the long chapters and the plot.  And as to your question—you MUST be psychic…I hope we answered it!


	15. Chapter Fourteen Time to Celebrate

When the Worlds Cross

By Heather and Jane

_Disclaimer_: Middle-Earth and its peoples belong to the great J.R.R. Tolkien.  Mia, Rowan, and Randy belong to us.  Any and all similarities to real life events/people are pure coincidence—unless they appear with permission.

_Summary_: The quest and battle for Middle-Earth is over.  Now, what do about the romance, and the heir of the throne of Gondor…

_Authors' Notes_: co-written between Jane and Heather, two Lord of the Rings fans that are trying to keep true to the story.  First part more movieverse than bookverse, but will soon go to bookverse.  Credit to Heather's father and our friend Wesley as story consultants.

_Warning:_ Heavy spoilers for _Return of the King_.

References to fairy tales and _Star Wars_ in this chapter—and no, not in the same context.

Reader thanks following chapter.

Chapter Fourteen

Time to Celebrate

~*~*~*~

Rowan woke to a well-lit room—that is, to say, she woke from a foggy sleep and immediately shut her eyes when she registered the light was a bit on the bright side.  _Warning labels should be put up—hey, wait a moment,_ she thought, sensing someone else present in the room.  "First off," she said, half asleep, "Who's there and where am I?"  She thought about it for a second before whoever was there could answer.  "Wait, don't tell me…I'm in Ithilien, right?"

"Quite right," said a very happy voice—one that Rowan instantly recognized as Legolas'.  _That_ woke her up.  She sat straight up and goggled at the elf prince, who was sitting in by her bed, looking quite patient and cheerful.  "I am glad to see you finally awake, Rowan."

"Legolas…" She was trying to think of something smart to say.  "I…how did we get back here?"

Legolas frowned slightly.  "You do not remember?"

"I…I remember going up the mountain and…watching Mia try to tackle Randy—wait, she did," said Rowan, grinning as she remembered that event.  Legolas muttered something about 'that explains it', but he didn't elaborate.  "Then I ran after them, 'cause she was getting her butt kicked—" She stopped.  "Oh, dear God."

"What?" said Legolas, alarmed.

"I killed him.  At least, I think I…" Rowan shoved the covers off of her (noticing that she was in a _dress_, of all things—someone was going to be seeing their ancestors soon) and started to get up.  The sudden throbbing pain in her leg stopped her.  "Ow!  What in the—"

Legolas leapt to his feet and put his hands on her shoulders.  "Do not try to move just yet," he warned her.  "Your wound has not yet healed."  Rowan looked at him blankly, not quite remembering what she had been wounded from.  _Well, obviously the fight with Randy, but what did he do?  He had the blade, which he managed to totally screw up on Mia—I _cannot_ believe he did that—and_…  "The Morgul blade.  Mia was quite insistent that you be treated right away—you were singing 'songs better left to three-year-olds' and seeing strange colors."

_Ooh, that's right_…  Rowan grimaced.  "Well, thank you Mia—where is she, anyway?"

"Watching the hobbits, of course, though I think she went out to speak with Merry and Pippin."  Legolas looked at her seriously.  "What were saying about killing?"

"Randy.  We were fighting and I killed him.  He was all Nazgul, but he was still…Randy.  I mean, he looked at me and he looked like Randy and…he's a jerk but I've known him for years and—" Rowan paused, blinking away the stinging in her eyes.  Then she frowned.  "Hold it.  He disappeared."

"He lives still?"

"No, I mean his body disappeared.  Like Obi-Wan Kenobi's, whoosh—you have no idea what I'm talking about."

"No," said Legolas ruefully and knelt down by the bed.  "But I think I understand that you are wondering if you could have done something else."  Rowan nodded.  "He would have killed you, would he not?"  Rowan shrugged, knowing that Randy had probably been corrupted enough to do just that.  _If he hadn't been corrupted, I bet he would have just bashed us on the head and that would have been that.  But he was and…that's how it is, I suppose_.  "You did what you had to do to protect yourself and your friends."

"And Gollum."  Rowan almost added 'don't-say-it' on automatic before remembering that Mia wasn't present.

Legolas looked mystified.  "You will have to explain why exactly you were pressed to do so—" He stopped and turned towards the door.  "Mia and Gimli are arguing," he said.

"About what?  And what's Gimli doing out there?"

"I asked him to keep watch for a bit, since Mia wandered in at one point asking if I was going to 'pull a Prince Charming on Sleeping Beauty'," Legolas told her.

"That's it, she's dead too."

The voices were getting loud enough for Rowan to hear them as well.

"…all right, but if she's not awake, then go back to the hobbits and if she is awake, go back to the hobbits!"

"Thank you, master dwarf," said Mia's voice dryly as the door opened.  She poked her head in, took in the tableau of Rowan sitting on the bed and Legolas kneeling next to her, and gave them a thumbs-up. "You go, girl!  And you too, dude.  Bye!"  She scampered off.

Gimli looked in.  "I think I will take my leave," he said wisely, and closed the door.

Rowan muttered, "Oh, that was fair."

"They left," Legolas pointed out, still looking at the door a bit worriedly.  "That seems fair enough."

"She called you 'dude'," Rowan muttered.

"Not the first time."  _WHAT_?!  Rowan decided that it was time to have words with her friend, and Legolas turned to face her, smiling.  "The first time was when I asked her to explain the rather odd 'Prince Charming' statement."

"Oh."

"Funny, I meant to ask what parent would name their child that."

"Don't ask _us_, ask the fairy tale authors—"

Legolas ignored that response (Rowan suspected that he'd already gotten it) and added, "I received a completely different tale.  And then I wondered why I did not act on it."

"Because you were waiting for me to wake up?" Rowan teased, grinning.

"Perhaps," Legolas replied with a matching one.

It was only logical that they start kissing at this point, and Rowan felt very glad to be obeying the rules of logic.  She pulled back and remarked, "I think I'm awake now."

"Very amusing," Legolas said before he kissed her again.

~*~*~*~

There was a knocking at the door.  Gandalf turned to it and smiled.  "They are awake," he called, and turned back to the heroic hobbits.  "There was another who wanted to be sure that you are well, the both of you.  Except there were a great many—"

Frodo felt a stab of hope in his chest.  He did not remember what had happened on Mount Doom very clearly (Gandalf said that time would clear that problem up) but knew that Mia and Rowan had been present.  Sam had smiled knowingly at that as well.

The door flew open and Mia raced in.  "Oh, good!" she said, a smile lighting her face.

"Mia!"

Gandalf murmured, "Yes, I think that's her name…" but they didn't pay him much heed.  Mia had somehow managed to cross from door to bed in less than an instant and was hugging each hobbit in turn.  "You are certainly doing much better!"

"I wasn't _that_ hurt," Mia pointed out, releasing Frodo, but leaving her hand on his arm.

"Not hurt!  Miss Regan…Mia," Sam corrected himself when she shot him a frown, "what about your eye?"

_What?!_  Frodo did a double take and saw that Mia's right eye was surrounded by black and blue bruises.   "Mia, what happened?"

"Randy."

"And what happened to him is Rowan's business to tell," Gandalf added when Sam and Frodo started to speak at the same time.  "When she feels up to telling it."

"Definitely," said Mia almost cheerfully.  "All I did was tackle the lunkhead."

"Are you all right?" Frodo asked worriedly.

Mia smiled.  "Perfectly fine.  It doesn't hurt anymore.  Well, except when I blink."

"Then do not blink."

"Easier said than done, Master Baggins," she said with a teasing grin, and moved her hand to touch his.  His hand with only four fingers, of course—Frodo waited for her to say something.  She did not disappoint.  "And it is a mere trifle—you have a greater sign of your bravery."

"Bravery?"

"Yes," said Sam and Mia sternly.

Gandalf coughed.  "I would…take heed of their words, Frodo."  Frodo shot the wizard a suspicious look, and then turned to Mia, realizing she had not said a word about Gandalf's return.  _Or had she been expecting it?  I think that she had!  What else did she expect?_  "Though I am sure that the hobbits would much love to speak with you, I believe it is time that you checked in on your friend?"

Mia glanced absently at the clock.  "All right.  I'll give them two more minutes."

_Them?  Oh!_  Frodo and Sam exchanged knowing glances.  The gardener hobbit asked, "Did Miss Aran wake up at last, then?"

"Yeah, without the wake-up prescribed by fairytales—all right, all right!" said Mia when Gandalf shot her a stern look.  She squeezed Frodo's hand lightly and grinned at Sam before turning towards the door.  "I'll go.  I'll interrupt the party.  I'll…trip over my skirts as I'm leaving.  That's why I don't _WEAR_ these things…"

Frodo looked at Sam.  "How interesting that her free-flowing talk hasn't changed that much," he remarked, and his dear friend nodded.  "And how did she escape so lightly?"

"I do not know," said Sam.  "But I am glad that she did, because she helped make sure that you arrived here safe, Master Frodo."

"As am I!" Gandalf announced, startling the hobbits and reminding them of the fact that they must soon get up. "Now, to meet the day and the public that awaits so impatiently the destroyers of the Ring of Power…"

Frodo hoped there wouldn't be very many speeches to that effect out in 'the public.'  It would become a bit embarrassing after a while.

~*~*~*~

The days that followed were filled with celebration, reunions, and honoring of heroes.  Rowan and Mia managed to stay out of the main part of those who were honored, out of a lingering worry about the 'sacred storyline' (Mia got a good wallop over the head for that one) and the feeling that they weren't as heroic as the hobbits or Aragorn and his army.  Gandalf made sure that the two got an honorary mention.  "If it pleases you," he said beforehand.

Mia and Rowan exchanged looks before shrugging and nodding to the wizard.  "We can live with that," said Rowan.  "And fine, Mia, go talk to the 'Knights of the Mark.'"

"No, I just want to tell them not to talk to what's eye-level for them."  Mia grinned before slipping off into the crowd.

Gandalf shook his head.  "I _wondered_ which one of you would make that comment."

Rowan looked at him suspiciously.  "What—" she started to ask, but heard Legolas and Gimli calling her name.  "I'll finish that later.  See you."  She walked off, with barely a limp (and not tripping over her skirt) and Gandalf watched with a smile.

Merry and Pippin were doing quite well and wished to tell everyone of their adventures—when not performing their duties as Knights of the Mark.  Pippin did spare a moment to ask Mia, "Whatever happened to your eye?  And where?"

"Randy punched me and it was over at that big volcano," said Mia nonchalantly.

'You went to Mount _DOOM_?!"

"Yes, and my feet are killing me."

Pippin gave her a look.  "You are being far too casual about this.  According to what Sam has said, Rowan doesn't speak about what happened that often."

"I wasn't present at the actual…er, and…and it's a long story and you're one to speak about being casual!" said Mia indignantly.  Pippin started laughing, much like he had before the quest, and she glowered at him.  He wasn't extremely surprised.

On the eve of the first day, the tales of each adventure was shared between the remaining Fellowship under the trees of Ithilien and nobody was surprised to see Mia trying to explain what Ent-draughts were to Sam and Frodo.  Rowan felt a bit reluctant to share the story about how she had stopped Randy, and kept the story fairly short.

Frodo said, "I am sorry you had to do that to your friend, Miss Aran."

"So am I," Rowan muttered, leaning against Legolas.  He smiled at her.

"One does things that they wish they did not have to in a war," Gimli told Rowan.

Mia was frowning to herself.  "I could have sworn that only Jedi disappeared," she muttered.

"Look, can we change the subject?" said Rowan, a single tear rolling down her cheek.

Legolas looked at her in alarm.

"Of course!" said Sam hastily.  "Ah, whatever happened to the Nazgul?"

"They disappeared—and that one that traveled from the future imploded, along with its strange steed," Gandalf reported.

"Imploded?"

"Collapse on itself," Mia replied, giving Merry a look.  "And that works out quite nicely."

"It does."

"So when do we get to see Aragorn become king?"

"When we're done telling stories, young Mia!" Gimli replied.

She gave him a look.  "Like how you kept score during battle?"

"How did you know about that?!" the dwarf exclaimed over the hobbits and Rowan giggling.  Legolas looked torn between amusement and surprise.

Gandalf shook his head, hiding a smile.

The next day, they began preparations for the coronation ceremony of Aragorn (also known as Strider the Ranger) and in the City of Gondor, the heir of Isildur's line was crowned King by Gandalf.  And then he began to dispense of fairness and justice to his people.

Two days after Aragorn became King Elessar of Gondor, Rowan and Mia were walking down one of the halls in the city, where windows looked to the outside.  Mia happened to look out musingly and she stopped short.  "Oh, good grief."

"Your shiner doesn't still hurt, does it?" Rowan asked in exasperation.

"No, but Arwen and the rest of the elves are early, looks like."

_What?_  Rowan scrambled over to the window and looked out.  _Oh, good grief, they are early!_  "Does the rest of the Fellowship know?" she asked.  Mia shrugged.  "Come on!"

"It's too early to be running!" Mia yelled after her, but sighed and started running anyway.

Thankfully, Frodo and Gandalf had noticed, and were both quite pleased that the girls had thought to give warning.

Aragorn and Arwen were married soon after.  Mia started to murmur something about it taking long enough, but Frodo elbowed her and she shut up before Rowan had a chance to say anything.

~*~*~*~

One of the following evenings (that was filled with celebration and recounts of the journeys that it took to get through the war), Mia bowed out of the late night conversations, and didn't bother asking Rowan if she was tired—her friend was a bit preoccupied with the Prince of Mirkwood—and headed back to her room.  "Keep an eye on them, would you, Master Gimli?" Mia asked in a mutter as she passed Gimli.

The dwarf nodded.  "Would think of nothing else, Miss Regan."

"Thanks and it's 'Mia.'"  _You'd think they'd have learned that by now,_ Mia thought wryly as she walked through the halls of the main building of the City of Gondor.  _I've only corrected half of the Fellowship a million times—and I am grateful for that_.  She knew all of her friends were now safe.  _How odd,_ she thought, _at one time, all these people were just characters in a book to me…and now, they are my friends_.  It was a rather spooky thought.

She was so lost in her thoughts that she almost bumped into Gandalf.  She blinked.  "Gandalf, why aren't you exchanging stories or telling Legolas not to brag about how many Orcs he shot?"

"I had to speak with someone," replied Gandalf, looking amused.  He turned somewhat serious suddenly.  "My dear Mia, what a trial you have been through.  But you have done well."

"I could not have done it without Rowan," replied Mia automatically.

"Ah, yes, the brave young Rowan…" Gandalf looked like he had a lot more to say.  Mia looked at him expectantly but he shook his head.  "…but I must be on my way.  We will talk later."  He continued down the hall.  Mia watched him go, a slight frown on her face.  He _WOULD_ be enigmatic at this time.

"Mia?  Is that you out there?" a small voice called from a nearby room.  It was Frodo.

_What's he doing _NOT_ at the party?_  Mia shook off the question, guessing that the late hour had zonked more than one hobbit, and glanced in the doorway.  "Yeah, it's me."

"Would you please come in?"

As if Mia could refuse.  She walked in.  "It is good to see you well again," she said.  "If I haven't already said that before a million times."

"I suppose so, yes—and not a million times, just fifty," Frodo told her with an impish glint in his eyes.  She shrugged, smiling.  "I'm just glad it's over."  He then got a better look at her and his eyes widened.  "Mia, isn't your eye getting better?  It's been a while!"

Mia shrugged slightly, moving away from the door and standing by the wall.  "Oh, it's not a problem—I asked Gandalf earlier today and he said it would be fully healed within a day or so.  Doesn't even hurt much anymore."  A bit of a lie but at least she had proof that she had done _SOME_ fighting.  For a while, she'd actually felt useless on the quest.  "How about you?"  She nodded at his hand.

"It's odd not to have all ten fingers, but I will be fine," he replied, looking a bit sad.  Then he looked up with a tiny smile.  "That was very brave of you to follow myself and Sam."

"Oh…" Mia shrugged modestly.  "I couldn't have done it by myself.  Besides, Rowan saved my life about a million times."

"Mia, would you come over here?  I can barely see you from here."  She moved to the foot of his bed, getting an extreme sense of déjà vu.  _I better not do a face plant on the floor after this_…  "It's good to know that you and Rowan are all right…she is all right, isn't she?  I saw that she was still limping…"

"Oh, yeah, Rowan's fine," said Mia, choosing to mention Rowan's lingering phantom pains, thanks to the Morgul blade, later.  Or perhaps never, letting Rowan do the talking for once.

Frodo nodded and looked serious.  "There is something I did not fully understand—Gandalf said that you had a purpose in following us, but then Rowan interrupted him with the comment about the horses," the former Ringbearer said, and Mia shifted a little.  She could see where this was going.  "Why did you follow us?"

"Um, we had to keep Smeagol alive until you got to Mount Doom."  Mia shrugged when Frodo gave her a sharp look.  "I'm _SORRY_ but if that was what got the Ring destroyed according…never mind!  But that's why."

"I'm not angry," said Frodo with a smile.  "Gandalf did say even Gollum had his part to play."

Mia moved to the side of the bed and gave him a hug, not even bothering to correct him on the late Smeagol's name.  Frodo was a bit startled, but returned the hug and only became uneasy when she started hugging him a bit tightly.

"Mia…um…"

"I'm sorry," she said, releasing him and sitting back on the bed.  "Well, not really, but you know.  It's just…I'm glad to see you smile."

"Oh.  Well, it's easy to smile when you're around."

At that, Mia blushed.

"I'm sorry, have I embarrassed you?  I did not mean to.  It's just that I'm so glad this is all over and everyone's all right."  Frodo paused for a moment.  "I'm ever so tired."

"Should I go?" Mia asked, concerned.

"No, no, I'd like you to stay," said Frodo hastily, reaching out and touching her hand.  She blinked at him.  "Could you…could you stay with me until I fall asleep?"

The request caught Mia off guard, but it wasn't as if she could refuse.  "Of course I can," she said.  A moment passed before she said, "Er, could I move so my back's leaning against the wall?  I have the feeling that I'm a bit unbalanced."

Frodo nodded, smiling again.  "All right," he said and moved over a bit, nearly laughing as Mia raced to half-shut the door and back to sit at the head of the bed, leaning against the headrest.  "It seems as if you're trying to do everything for me at this moment."

"You said you were tired," said Mia, managing not to blush.

"Oh, I am," Frodo told her with a smile before settling back against his pillows and closing his eyes.  Feeling a bit awkward, Mia reached around his shoulders and hugged him lightly before leaning back against the wall.

For the next few moments, Mia stayed like that with Frodo, her arm as a support to him.  She had intended to sneak out (as per usual) after he fell asleep, but she was more exhausted than she'd realized.  Both hobbit and human slept soundly through the night.

To Be Continued…in Chapter 15, where we see what happens next to Mia and Rowan.  Please leave any form of commentary by clicking the little box below.

Yavanna – thank you, glad you thought that bit was funny (last minute inspiration, actually!), and we hope that your wonderings were answered. *grin* and you're welcome.

Midnight – oh, thanks, and you're not dull.  We're glad you want to read more!

gaile – thank you for the reviews.  And yeah, there are so many stories to read and so little time with real life intruding…glad that you like the footsteps and the Shelob incident. *grin*


	16. Chapter Fifteen Of Parting and Homecomi...

When the Worlds Cross

By Heather and Jane

_Disclaimer_: Middle-Earth and its peoples belong to the great J.R.R. Tolkien.  Mia, Rowan, and Randy belong to us.  Any and all similarities to real life events/people are pure coincidence—unless they appear with permission.

_Summary_: The Quest is over and sad things begin happening.  And there's another onslaught of Madonna music.

_Authors' Notes_: co-written between Jane and Heather, two Lord of the Rings fans that are trying to keep true to the story.  First part more movieverse than bookverse, but will soon go to bookverse.  Credit to Heather's father and our friend Wesley as story consultants.

There is a reference to the _Back to the Future_ movies, the word 'smeg' (copyright _Red Dwarf_) appears again, and the song _Ray of Light_ belongs to Madonna.  If we missed any, let us know.

Teensy warning for spoilers for _Return of the King_, but only if you look real close.

Reader thanks following chapter.

Chapter Fifteen

Of Parting and Homecoming

~*~*~*~

A week after the festivities, the hobbits made plans to return to the Shire.  Upon hearing this, Rowan began agreeing with the plans and raced off to find the maps that led straight to the Shire.  (A bewildered Legolas followed her.)  On the other hand, Mia winced unhappily about this—since she knew what was happening in the Shire and because she did not want to say goodbye—but told Frodo it was the best idea.  He looked at her a bit suspiciously and said, "Is there something that you are not telling me?"

"Would it matter if there were?" Mia asked with a smile as they walked to the house that the hobbits and Gandalf had been sharing since the coronation.

"Perhaps," said Frodo, returning the smile.  "It might help us."

"Frodo, you know that I'm not about to reveal things that might change the set path—"

He shook his head.  "I know that!  But Mia, the Ring is destroyed.  What more could happen?"

Mia gave him a dirty look.  "You do realize that you've just jinxed yourself, you know."

"I have?" Frodo said, looking alarmed.  She nodded, stifling a grin.  "Oh, dear.  How did I do that?"  And it was only later that he realized that the subject had been changed (quite accidentally) from what Mia was hiding to why saying certain phrases 'jinxed' days or missions.

The day before the hobbits were to return to the Shire (provided all went well), the four visited Aragorn's home, where Mia was listening to Legolas and Rowan boast about their archery skills.  She said, "Someone shut them up now!  Gimli went to talk to the Gondorian soldiers, probably out of boredom…and my head's about to split."

"Is it how many arrows they've shot or how many targets they've hit?" Pippin wanted to know.

"Pip, what's that—" Mia got to her feet, looked at him, blinked once, and then shook her head.  _It's been a week or so and I'm still not quite used to it!  That doesn't seem quite fair_…  "I am NEVAH gonna get used to this.  And what does that have to do with anything?"

"Just a question."

"Well, targets, but I think arrows are going to be next and—"

Rowan tuned into the conversation at that very moment, and gave her friend an incredulous look.  "Mia, did you just use a gangsta accent?"

"Uh, no?" Mia offered weakly.

"What's—" Merry stopped when both girls gave him the evil eye.  "I don't want to know, do I?"

"I think that it would take too long to explain," Legolas said tactfully, standing up.  _Boy, at least someone's trying to be diplomatic here,_ Mia thought, rolling her eyes.  "And is there anything troubling you?"

"Not anymore, from the looks of it," Sam replied, glancing at Mia and Frodo.  The two seemed to gravitate towards each other of late, the gardener had noticed, though they only stood near one another.  Oddest bit of courting Sam had ever seen, but he supposed that he shouldn't say anything.  That would only get Mr. Frodo talking about Sam seeing Rosie Cotton again, and Mia would get that all-knowing look she had at times.

Downright _annoying_—but then again, Sam had noticed Rowan giving Frodo and Mia the same type of look.

"Really," said Rowan, lifting an eyebrow.  "I—all right, I'll stop."

"Talking about how many targets you've hit or making insinuations?" Mia asked sweetly.

Merry and Pippin stifled grins as Rowan goggled at her friend.  "I am not—well, I am," she amended as the group began walking down the paths in the courtyard.  Legolas trailed an inch behind, content to listen and smile in amusement.  "But that's not the point—"

"It sounds as if it is," Merry pointed out.

"Oh, shush.  Are you boys still planning on leaving tomorrow?  With a lot of speed?" Rowan prodded.

"Yes," Sam replied.

"Good.  Good, that is very good."

Mia rolled her eyes.  "Gee, do you think that's good?" she asked the sky.  Rowan smacked the back of her head.  "Ow!  Jeez, what the smeg was _that_ one for?"

"Too much sarcasm."

"Girl, there's a reason why Legolas just said _hypocrite_ in Elvish," said Mia, and Rowan whirled around to frown at the sheepish elf.  "Well, you have to admit—"

"What is 'smeg?'"

Mia slapped a hand to her forehead.  "Pippin," she said in a groan, noticing out of the corner of her eye that Gandalf was approaching.  _Maybe he can get this very responsible yet still too-curious hobbit to be quiet about that!_  "Not going to answer that.  And why are you always asking me?"

"Well…" Pippin paused, thinking about it.

"'Cause you're special," Rowan teased, done scolding Legolas.  And had now dragged him forward so she was holding onto his arm.  (He didn't look as if he were too upset with this, of course.)  "And you're nicer than I am."

Mia raised an eyebrow.  "Haven't we had this conversation before?"

"Ummm…"

"That's very interesting," Frodo interrupted, and Mia turned to him.  The former Ringbearer looked very concerned about something.  "I have been wondering this and I keep forgetting to ask."  Merry muttered something.  "I _heard_ that, Meriadoc!"

"What?" said Mia, Rowan, and Merry at the same time.  Only difference was that Merry sounded too innocent, while the girls were confused.

Legolas coughed and nodded a hello at Gandalf.  The wizard nodded back, smiling mysteriously.

"Nothing," said Frodo, blushing slightly.  _Oh, that's it, Merry is dead,_ Mia thought almost cheerfully as she put a hand on Frodo's shoulder.  "What I was wonder was…Mia, where will you and Rowan go?"

The girls looked at each other and shrugged in unison.

Needless to say, the hobbits and Legolas were quite surprised.  Frodo gaped and said, "You do not know?  Gandalf, how…oh, never mind, you won't answer that."

"Won't I," said Gandalf, chuckling.

"And to answer your question…nope, we don't know.  Haven't a clue.  Wish we did, though," said Rowan.

Mia nodded.

There was a click-snap noise, reminiscent of a tape player turning on, and suddenly the sounds of Madonna's _Ray of Light_ song filled the air.  Mia and Rowan stopped short, their eyes widening.  This was not supposed to happen.  Rowan began looking around the courtyard suspiciously while Mia glanced at Gandalf.  The wizard looked far too innocent.

Oh, brother.

"What is this?" asked Legolas, concerned.

The hobbits just looked amused at the sudden onslaught of music.

"…_quicker than a ray of light_," sang a male voice, and someone stepped out of thin air.

The music abruptly stopped and silence reigned for a few moments.

"_Mr. Little_?" Mia and Rowan finally yelled, looking stunned.

"Yes, it is I!" said Mr. Little, laughing and continuing to hum along to the now-silenced tape player.  Everyone exchanged surprised looks, and Mia mumbled something about "ask and ye shall receive" before sitting down.  On the ground.  Frodo blinked at her.

"Don't look so surprised," the new arrival went on.

With a surprising amount of calmness, Legolas said, "It is not often that strangers appear out of the air."

"That's not a stranger, that's our English teacher," Rowan informed the elf, her voice sounding dangerously close to squeaking.

"No," Gandalf spoke up, outright grinning.  "This is a paradox.  That is me—in the future."

Silence.  Then the girls shrieked, "_What_!" in harmony, making Sam and Legolas rub their ears.  Rowan seemed reduced to gaping like a fish while Mia went on to yelp, "Wait!  But how can you be here—and now—and also be there and then…and—oh, bloody hell, I've gone cross-eyed!"

"Mr. Little does not endorse that kind of language!" Mr. Little scolded her, not quite smiling.

Mia's jaw fell open.  _Oh, yeah, that's him,_ she thought dimly, shaking her head.

Somewhat puzzled and now recovered of her senses, Rowan looked from Gandalf to Mr. Little, and back.  And blinked.  She could see the resemblance.  Not at first, but…it was there.  "Whoa," she murmured.  "Gandalf, thank you for not shaving."

"Very amusing, Miss Aran."

Merry tapped Mia's shoulder.  "Psst," he said, and she glanced up at him.  "What's an English teacher?"

_Hoo, boy.  Seriously, why is it always me?_  Mia sighed and began hissing a quick explanation to the hobbits.  (All of who wanted to know why English teachers weren't called 'language arts' teachers more of the time.)  Once she was finished with that, Mr. Little said, "I think I should explain exactly what I'm doing here—and what you three were doing here in the first place.  And how you arrived."

"Yeah, that would help," said Rowan.

"It wasn't explained?"

"Shh!" Pippin, Sam, Frodo, and Mia hissed at Merry.

Mr. Little chuckled and began telling the story.  He had intercepted the summons for great warriors, and easily recognizing whom it was coming from (or remembering, but he didn't say which), sent the three teenagers instead.  "Rowan and Mia have done so much better than 'great warriors' would have," said Mr. Little to Gandalf.

"I quite agree."

_He's agreeing with _himself_?!_  Mia began to get that cross-eyed feeling again.

Strangely enough, Mr. Little did not mention what Randy's purpose had been or what had happened to the boy's body.  He only said, "A suspicion I had came true."  Rowan and Mia exchanged looks at that one, wondering if the suspicion had been about Randy's corruption.  It was highly possible.

And what was perfectly mind-boggling about the entire explanation was that it made sense.  And it explained the 'follow my footsteps' dream too.

"We always knew you were hiding something," Rowan teased the English teacher (or wizard) when he wound down.

"Oh, I thought you two had already guessed!  Mia looked suspicious often enough!"

Mia blinked.  "I did?  Since _when_?!"

"Or not," Mr. Little amended, and the hobbits burst out laughing.  "But since the quest is now over, I think it's time that you two got back to the future."  Mia raised her eyebrows.  "Don't say it," he warned her.

"What, the joke about the DeLourean?  I was just going to say that your timing is impeccable."  Mia glanced at Rowan and Legolas, noticing that the two of them were less than happy at this statement.  _Or not.  Sheesh, maybe there was something to be said for the hobbits making farewell rounds today_.  "Or…maybe not."

"Looks like those two need a moment," Pippin observed.

Sam elbowed him at the same time Rowan growled, "Thank you so much, Mr. States-the-Obvious."

"Fifteen minutes," said Mr. Little over the sound of Frodo asking if it wasn't supposed to be Captain Obvious.

Mia chose not to respond to the latter, and instead said, "Only fifteen minutes?"

"Time is a tricky business.  Do not meddle with it and do not waste what time you have," Gandalf intoned.

"What are you, a fortune cookie?" Mia grumbled.  "Hey, hobbit-lads, race you to the throne room.  _I didn't say go!"_ she shrieked indignantly when all four of them took the hint and sped off.  She sprinted after them, growling to herself.

After exchanging bemused looks, Gandalf and Mr. Little followed them.  Leaving Rowan and Legolas alone in the courtyard.

"Something tells me we will have to remind them of the time limit."

"You think?"

~*~*~*~

"_Amin nowe ron n'kelaya_," Legolas said under his breath, once the crowd had finished stampeding off.

"Could you repeat that, in the common tongue?  The translators have disappeared!" Rowan reminded him, smiling despite herself.

The Elf Prince looked a tad sheepish.  "Oh, forgive me.  I said 'I thought they would never leave.'"

"My sentiments exactly."  Rowan paused, and a comfortable silence passed between the two.  _Say something, say something, but do not say goodbye.  That would…be very much not good_.  "I don't want to have to say goodbye," she said at last.

"Nor do I," Legolas replied frankly, and added something in Elvish.  It sounded pretty, but Rowan still gave him a look.  He smiled briefly and said, "I said that I would not let a day pass without wondering how you are."

_Oh_.  Rowan blinked.  She wasn't the type to lose it during sappy movies, but she still got a bit misty-eyed.  "I won't either," she said.  She thought a moment.  "It sounds prettier in Elvish."

"That it does," Legolas replied before kissing her.

The kiss went on for a bit (or a few moments—Rowan wasn't quite sure).  And then the two were content to embrace each other, counting heartbeats.

"AHEM!"

Startled, the two broke apart to see Mr. Little giving them a look.  "What?" Rowan asked, trying to look casual and innocent and figuring that she was failing terribly.

"It's almost been five minutes and you don't have to separate to say your other farewells.  And you're the declared losers of the race to the throne room."

Why does this not surprise me? Rowan wondered, and blinked when Legolas said, "We weren't involved in the race!  How does this—"

"Legolas?  Does it really matter?" Rowan asked him.  The elf shook his head, but still looked a bit put out.  _Oi, vey_.  "Fine, let's go tell them that we aren't the losers."

"Or at least tell Miss Regan to take losing a race gracefully."

Rowan stifled a snort.  "Fine.  But you can tell her that one, all right?"

~*~*~*~

By the time Legolas and Rowan caught up, Mia had finished explaining the situation to King Elessar (or Aragorn, as the girls still called him) and the king was nodding.  "I did think that there was more to your arrival than had been stated," he said.  "It has been good knowing the two of you.  Certainly an interesting experience."

"Same here.  It's been fun," said Mia, grinning.  "Ah, _namarie_."

"_Namarie_," Rowan echoed, and hissed, "By the way, Legolas is not happy about the comment that we lost the race."

"I didn't say it, Pippin did."

"Really.  Oh, _Pippin_!" Rowan sang, grabbing Legolas' arm and pulling him over to the hobbit.

Mia sighed.  "Here we go again—oh, Rowan!  We have to say goodbye to Gimli, remember?  Rowan!"  _Why do I think that I shouldn't have mentioned the bit about Pippin_? she thought with another sigh.

Thankfully, the debate about who lost the race ended when Frodo told all of them to just 'be quiet, it was not a serious thing' and the girls said a quick goodbye to Gimli.  The dwarf was a bit confused about the exact reasons of the girls leaving, but he was a bit busy with his axes and Legolas promised to explain matters fully.

"Or best I can," the elf added as the entire party walked back out to the courtyard.  Gandalf was sitting there and Mr. Little was studying a pillar critically, or possibly for show.

"Just do that," said Rowan, smiling up at him.

Mia didn't feel like smiling.  Now was the hard part.  _I don't want to say goodbye to the hobbits!_ she thought, noting that her mental voice sounded like a wail.  But she managed, since that had been the plan for the day, and three of the hobbits were surprisingly upbeat about it.

"I imagine we'll see each other again," Sam told Rowan as he watched Mia approach Frodo.  "Some way or another.  Don't you?"

Rowan nodded absently, glancing at Legolas.  "I suppose.  I certainly hope so."

_All right.  Stay calm.  Do not start blubbering_.  Mia took a deep breath and knelt down, looking Frodo in the eye.  "I really don't want to have to say this again, but," she started.

"No," Frodo cut her off, and she stared at him.  He stared back, looking sheepish but determined.  "I've already said goodbye—or '_namarie'_—to you once, Mia.  I don't plan to do so again.  At this point, it seems…final."

"Oh."  He did have a point, Mia readily admitted, but she said aloud, "But goodbye doesn't necessarily mean that we'll never see each other again…" Merry and Pippin were making odd gestures behind Frodo's back.  What on Earth?  Were they trying to play Charades?  "Or at least—_mmph_!"

The kiss was fairly short.  Mia blinked and saw that Frodo was blushing furiously.  _Huh.  Well, we still have a few minutes_.  She leaned forward and kissed him, managing not to blush.

"Oh, good grief," said Rowan in some disbelief.

"It certainly took them long enough," said Sam, nodding.  That comment got at least five incredulous stares.  "What?  It did!"

Mi and Frodo had parted, and were smiling a little, even though they both looked teary-eyed.

"Perhaps, Master Samwise," said Legolas after a long beat.

"Yes, perhaps.  That's enough.  We have to go now," Mr. Little said tactfully, not looking at his watch.  Reluctantly, the girls moved away from their friends, Mia blinking rapidly.  "All right, then.  _Namarie_, everyone!  Nice seeing you again!"  He waved cheerily at the group, who waved back not quite as cheerily.

Rowan and Mia glanced at the glowing ring on their English teacher's finger.  _Narya_, Mia mouthed just as the world exploded into a rainbow-filled whirlpool of vertigo that they fell back into—

—And then there was darkness.

~*~*~*~

The darkness lasted a little longer than the feeling of vertigo, which thankfully ended with the rather unpleasant feeling of landing on pavement.  _Ow, that's…painful,_ Rowan thought, keeping her eyes closed.  _Spine in pain…_  She opened her eyes and saw a bright, sunny sky broken by a power line overhead.  The same thing she saw if she looked up while walking away from the English classroom.

_Yay, I'm back,_ Rowan thought sarcastically, sitting up and yelping.  Her leg still hurt a little, Mia was groaning somewhere off to the left—and _RANDY_ was sitting not two feet away, rubbing his head and looking a bit dazed.  _This isn't happening…I killed him!  Sword went through his body and…_

_And then he disappeared,_ she reminded herself.  _He went bye-bye…yikes_.

"_Randy_?" she squeaked.

"Yeah—ow—hang on—"

"Holy H-E double hockey-sticks!" Mia yelped, leaping to her feet.  Rowan made a mental note to kill Mia if she ever said that particular phrase again.  "Did it—ow, ow, eye, ow…guess it did happen."  She touched her eye, which looked pretty much healed.  "Ow.  Randy, you evil neener-head."  She batted Randy across the back of the head—and then she grinned, lunging forward and nearly cutting off the boy's oxygen supply.  "You're alive!"

"_GURK_!"

"Mia, stop choking him!"

"Whoops."  Mia let go.

Randy blinked, his disoriented (and strangled) look fading.  "Um, yes, I'm…oh, my Lord, was I—"

Rowan got to her feet.  Evidently, Randy remembered Middle-Earth and everything he had done while there.  _Which is good, because I really, really don't want to have to explain everything that happened or why Mia is acting like a maniac.  Er, more of a maniac than usual_.  "Yes," she said simply, having no desire to add anything more.  "You were."

"Oh."

"Yeah, oh."  Rowan picked up her backpack, wondering how Mr. Little had managed that since it had last been left somewhere on Middle-Earth, and figured it was because he was a wizard.  _And not just _a_ wizard, but _the_ coolest wizard ever_.  She smiled, and remembered the lecture dream.  About the rings and what they had become in the future.  _And who has them…or is supposed to_…  Rowan patted one of the outer pockets of her backpack and felt a familiar lump.  "Mia—"

"Gotcha," Mia nodded, reaching for her own backpack and opening it.  "And got it, too…hmm."  She picked up a book that looked quite battered and was covered in a familiar script.  "Cool!"

"Lucky you—I lost my sword."

"Oh, quit whining," said Mia, rolling her eyes.

"Uh, Rowan?  Mia?  Were we _really_ on Middle-Earth?" Randy asked.  Two annoyed 'duhs' answered him.  He winced.  "I'm sorry.  For, uh…well, everything…"

"You're not wholly at fault."  Of course Mia would be the one to say that.  _Then again,_ Rowan thought with a small smile, _Mia had been the one to tackle him_.  "But don't think we're going to be any nicer to you," the taller girl finished, looking triumphant.

"Yeah, didn't think so," replied Randy, smiling a little.

"Oh, you're not funny," Rowan said to Mia, who just smiled.  Argh.  Infuriating.  She swung her backpack over her shoulders.  "See you at lunch, Randy."

Randy tilted his head.  "Yeah, I…where are you two going?" he asked them as he got to his feet.

"To take care of business," Rowan replied, glancing back at him.  Mia chose to keep walking ahead.  "You don't need to come along if you don't want to."

~*~*~*~

The girls' destination was their English classroom, which was empty save for Mr. Little—an anomaly during lunchtime, since he was lenient about allowing students to visit.  He grinned at them, turning away from his computer.  "Hello, ladies!  Having a good day?"

"Hi, Mr. Little," Mia and Rowan chorused, and the former added a rather bland, "Yeah, kind of."  By silent agreement, neither girl mentioned Middle-Earth.  Rowan just handed over a rock and Mia dropped a necklace on the desk.  The English teacher looked at the girls curiously.

"We don't want these anymore."  Rowan shrugged.  "Wouldn't be any use, anyway."

Mr. Little raised his eyebrows.  "Really."

Mia also shrugged, affecting an unconcerned air.  "Like we ever used them!  C'mon, Rowan," she said to her friend, "I have this sudden craving for pizza."

"At least you didn't say coffee," Rowan muttered as they left.

"Oh, that too!" said Mia with false brightness.  Rowan groaned.  "What?"

Another English teacher passed by, and overheard part of the conversation.  "Coffee.  Now that's what I need," he remarked.

Any other teacher making this statement would have gotten a sarcastic comment of 'oh, you realize this _now_?'—but not this one.  That English teacher got a little too bouncy if he had too much coffee, and his students were always less than amused.

The girls looked at each other in horror and turned to run after him.  "Oh, no you don't!"

Inside the classroom, Mr. Little was looking at the deposited items on his desk.  "Hmm," he said.  This was very interesting.

To Be Continued…in Chapter Sixteen, where some very interesting things happen—and that's all we're saying.  Please leave any form of commentary, good or bad, in the box below.

Midnight – thanks, glad you liked the happy chapter.  Hope this one wasn't too bad.

Hikki – thank you.  And to answer your question, just two chapters after this one.

Serenia-dreamer of the woods – we're glad you think this story is cute.  Thank you for the reviews!


	17. Chapter Sixteen Back Again

When the Worlds Cross

By Heather and Jane

_Disclaimer_: Middle-Earth and its peoples belong to the great J.R.R. Tolkien.  Mia, Rowan, and Randy belong to us.  Any and all similarities to real life events/people are pure coincidence—unless they appear with permission.

_Summary_: Things are resolved—and the three teenagers are in for a very nice surprise.

_Authors' Notes_: co-written between Jane and Heather, two Lord of the Rings fans that are trying to keep true to the story.  First part more movieverse than bookverse, but will soon go to bookverse.  Credit to Heather's father and our friend Wesley as story consultants.

Spoiler alerts for the end of _Return of the King_.

Quotes/References: we refer to Anne Rice's _Interview With the Vampire_, the movie _Titanic,_ and _Star Trek_.  And we quote Goofy.  If we missed any, let us know.

Reader thanks following chapter.

Chapter Sixteen

Back Again

~*~*~*~

A week passed and life went on as it normally did, on surface appearances.  On occasion, the three teenagers spoke of their experiences but only in passing comment.  (One such occasion was Randy wondering why Mia still had the Elvish book, but they theorized that it was because it had been in her backpack at the time.)  For the most part, the adventure wasn't spoken of and there were no changes that casual observers would notice.

Except that Randy was being a lot nicer now (making Rowan suspicious and a lot of his friends worried) and Mia had a rather bad incident one Thursday when she was reading _Return of the King_ in English class.  She burst into tears somewhere near the end and Rowan had to kick her to get her to stop.  Mr. Little did not say a word, though he did give the girls a worried look.  And across the room, Randy pretended to enjoy rereading a book by Hawthorne.

"Are you finished?" Rowan muttered after kicking Mia a second time.

Mia sniffed and shrugged slightly.  "I guess…"

"What part—oh, don't tell me," said Rowan, sighing and lowering her voice to a whisper.  "You were reading about the departure."  Her friend nodded and she sighed in exasperation.  "For God's sake, Mia…  You're too sensitive!"

"So says the girl who didn't even cry when Claudia died in _Interview With the Vampire_," said Mia, wiping at her eyes and finally getting her tears to stop.

"Claudia was a bitch and Kirsten Dunst is annoying."

"Not that annoying."

"Well, not as Claudia," Rowan acknowledged, "but she's annoying now."

Mia gave up on that conversation, considering the fact that she agreed with that statement.  The class ended a few moments later, with Mr. Little reminding the students about the research project, and the lunch period began.  Randy approached and said, "Everything cool?"

"Oh, yeah, Mia's just acting all depressed at an ending that she helped come true," said Rowan, not without a touch of sarcasm.

"Hey, standing right here!  I am not depressed," she said defensively when Randy looked at her.  "I'm just all…"

"Sensitive?"

"What are you going on about that for?"

Randy rolled his eyes as Rowan pointed out, "You cried at _Titanic_!"

"Totally different subject and I did _not_!" Mia said indignantly, heading for the door.

"You did too!"

Mia shook her head.  "I cried at a different movie, really…"

Looking a bit confused (and really wanting to change the subject), Randy said, "I'd say something about hobbits—ow, arm—or elves—_OW_!—but that won't help."

Mr. Little glanced up from the papers he was grading.  This was the first conversation about Middle-Earth that he had overheard—post adventure, anyway.

"It'd give us some release for tension," said Rowan cheerfully.  "Got a book, Mia?"

"Uh, I'll shut up!" Randy exclaimed, and Mia stopped fumbling for one of her textbooks.  "Thank you.  Not to sound like the Trekkie I am, but the whole time thing would have—"

"Oh shut up again if you please.  We kept things normal, like how Tolkien wrote about them—if we go back, which we have no plans to, things'll change!" Rowan snapped, opening the door and letting her friends out first.  "And we can't let that happen…'cause it's not our business to change how things end!"  That said, she shut the door once her friends had nodded in resigned agreement.

"You think so," Mr. Little murmured just after the door clicked shut.

Outside, Mia said, with a sigh, "I am very upset, thank you so much people."

"At least you're admitting it," Randy said.

"I wasn't denying it," Mia pointed out, and the boy shrugged in response.  "And I need coffee."

Rowan glared at her.  "Mia!"

"So do I," a familiar voice said, and a teacher walked by quite cheerfully.

"_No, you don't_!" the three teenagers yelled, alarmed for the sake of his students.

~*~*~*~

The next day was much the same—minus the crying—until Mr. Little asked to see Mia and Rowan after class.  Randy lingered behind before Mia shoved him lightly and murmured, "Don't worry, it'll be cool—go see your friends and followers, you've been neglecting them."

"Have I?" Randy wondered as the door closed behind him.

"Interesting boy," Mr. Little remarked, and turned towards the girls, who were standing by his desk a bit uneasily.  "You two are doing all right, aren't you?"

Rowan shrugged.  Her leg still hurt on occasion (only when she thought about it) but otherwise…everything was tolerable.  "We're fine."

"Yep."  Mia nodded, a bit too quickly.  Always had been a bit of a bad liar in the face of authority.

"No, you're acting a bit more melancholy than usual—or at least less bouncy.  You don't miss you-know-where that much, do you?" Mr. Little asked.  The girls raised their eyebrows, at both the question and the 'coded' description.  "Ah.  _Inhabitants_ of you-know-where."

"We're not complaining," said Mia quickly.  "I mean, it wouldn't do any good and going back would totally change things.  And no way do I want that to happen.  I mean, you're looking at the girl who fought tooth and nail to keep things true to the story."

Rowan nodded.  "Yep.  This is a fact.  And she was annoying about it too."

Mia glared at her.  "Oh, _thank_ you."

"Ah, so you want only the future you know," said Mr. Little, looking amused.

"Uh, yeah—wait," Rowan said suspiciously, recalling something that the past-Gandalf had said, way back at the Council of Elrond.  That there were many different futures for Middle-Earth, and that they—the girls and Randy—had been sent back from one of them.  "Are you saying that the future is different?"

"To an extent," said Mr. Little vaguely.  "Would you want to see it for yourselves?"

"Well, yes, obviously," said Rowan, after glancing at Mia to confirm this.  "But…but we can't obviously—wait.  You're not planning on sending us back to Middle-Earth, are you?"  She had a 'better-not' tone and Mia was still glaring.

Mr. Little gave them an innocent look.  "Mr. Little does not endorse traveling through time for purely emotional reasons."

"Didn't think so," said Rowan, while Mia sighed with what was either relief or disappointment.

"I didn't say anything about Kevin, though."

The girls looked up, wide-eyed, just as Mr. Little put on Narya.

"See you in a bit!" he added, grinning at them.

And yet _again _the world exploded into a tie-dye mix of colors that spun around, taking the floor out from under them, and thoroughly nauseating Mia.

Hopefully the landing would be a bit better this time around.

~*~*~*~

"Yaaah!"  Rowan did not remember the fall being this long.  _WHUMPH_!  "Yikes!"

"Ouch!"

_And that was a voice, what the hey?_  Rowan looked around, realized that she had landed on a horse and its rider, and that she was getting a blood rush to the head.  The last was thanks to the fact that she was lying on her back, on someone's legs, with her eyes level with an upside down bush.  _This is starting to hurrrrt_…

She lifted her head and met a certain Elf Prince's eyes.

_Though now I feel better!_  "Legolas?" she cried, trying to sit up.  Good grief, what had the English teacher _done_?

"Rowan…are you truly here?" Legolas asked in disbelief, helping her upright after a moment.  (The horse didn't seem too pleased with the extra passenger.)  He looked a bit taken aback—not that this stopped him from kissing her briefly before pulling back to gape.  "How is this—"

"Can I get my balance?  Thanks.  It's…very, very—_REAL_.  Oh, my…" Rowan hugged Legolas tightly, almost wanting to laugh from relief.  And the elf's embrace was just as strong—and thankfully not rib crushing.  "I missed you."

"And I you.  _Nae saian luume'_," Legolas murmured and Rowan looked up to give him a look.  He smiled.  "_Amin hiraetha_—I am sorry.  I said it had been too long."  He kissed her again.

"Mmph."  _I think I like this way of greeting_, Rowan thought happily.  "Totally agree with you.  Where am I?" she asked, pulling back a little to breathe.

"Near Mirkwood."

"Oh, that's…incredibly great," Rowan said, and kissed him again.  She could feel him smiling briefly before he returned the kiss.  He pulled back a moment later (again for breathing purposes) and returned her grin, nodding a little in agreement.

A peaceful moment passed and Legolas said, sounding just a little bit on the surprised side, "Um, Rowan?  Your ears are pointy."

"Hunh?!"  Rowan's hands flew to her head and it was only by luck (and Legolas' help) that she didn't fall off of the horse in shock.  Her ears were pointed.  Like an elf's—(though boy was she glad that Randy the Trekkie was not around).  "Okay, how did that happen?  That…this is _weird_!  That only happens in…in _stories_ or something."  Legolas shrugged, as lost to finding an explanation as she was.  "And where is Gimli—weren't you two supposed to be journeying around Middle-Earth together?"

Legolas blinked at her.  "That is to take place in the spring…I do not understand—"

"I think that figuring out how I suddenly got elf ears can wait until after I'm _off_ the precarious seat," Rowan told him, and he nodded.  "Besides, I want to kiss you again."

"Oh, of course."

Rowan couldn't help but laugh a little.  "I like that answer," she murmured before kissing Legolas again.

Some part of her mind reminded her that sooner or later, the kissing was going to have to cease in order to continue Legolas' trip around Mirkwood or to get off of the horse.  She wasn't too interested in following that bit of advice at this moment, and Legolas didn't seem to be bothered by overly practical inner voices.  And the horse was still less than happy with the entire business of its two kissing riders.

~*~*~*~

_Daahhh-hoo-hoo-hweeee_…  It would be Disney playing in Mia's head as she landed face first on a hard floor.  _And my eye was healing, too!  Owie_…   She looked up blearily and saw hairy feet.  Hobbit feet.  _Good grief_…  Mia tilted her head up further and saw Samwise Gamgee standing right in front of her.  "Sam!" she cried, delighted.

"_Mia_?" the gardener exclaimed, looking flabbergasted.  Mia nodded, grinning, and he smiled back a little uncertainly.  "This is quite a surprise!  What are you doing here?"

"I don't know—seriously," she said when he gave her an odd look.  And then he helped her up, which was so nice and quite like Sam.  _Cool, some things don't change…wait a moment_.  "Am I at Bag End?" she asked, a little on the suspicious side.

"Yes…" Sam suddenly looked less than happy.  "Yes, you are at Bag End."

Mia's eyes narrowed.  "Where's Frodo?" she demanded.  If he was already in the Undying Lands, she was _so_ going to go nuclear on a certain wizard.

"He is unwell," Sam informed her.

"What?  It's not March or October, is it?" Mia yelled.

"March?"  Sam looked puzzled.  "And it is near the beginning of November…"

"Oh, good that means that Saruman's butt has been kicked five ways since Tuesday—"

Sam blinked, but more at what she had said than at the knowledge of Saruman's attack on the Shire.  "I beg your pardon?"

"Expression…okay, November.  And he's _sick_?  Tell me that it's some kind of normal illness and he's not reliving certain shadow king incidents!" said Mia.  Sam hesitated and she grimaced.  "Oh, _great_.  Why the H-E double hockey sticks…never mind."  _I have got to stop saying that_.  She shucked her backpack and set it against the wall.  _Can get that thing later…when did it get light, anyway?_  "Where is he?"

"He is in his room, trying to recover," Sam replied, frowning a little.  "But don't you—"

"Okay, I may know a lot about Middle-Earth, but know _nothing_ of Bag End's architecture…or who sleeps where or what," said Mia, looking exasperated.

"Ah.  The first bedroom…really, the only one with a closed door, down that hall," said Sam, nodding.  "Right behind you, as a matter of fact.  I was just checking on him.  He is having a hard time recognizing friend…" Mia gave him a look.  "But that will not stop you—or me," Sam said firmly.

"Right the first time!  Thanks!"  Mia turned around and nearly crashed into the door.  _Ouch…okay, don't do _that_ again_…  "You couldn't have mentioned that the door was _closed_?" she mumbled, fumbling for a doorknob.  He gave her a look.  "Okay, _my_ bad…  Ouch, shoulder, ow…"

Sam kindly pushed the door open while Mia made certain that her shoulder was not broken.  The lighting of the room was somewhat dim, and Frodo was on his bed, turned slightly away from the door.  Mia grimaced.  "He looks awful," she whispered to Sam.  "How long has he been like this?"

"Since mid-October, not long after we freed the Shire," Sam told her.  "He's…well, doing better of late."

Mia took a moment to give Sam a look.  "I would _hope_ so…Frodo?" she said nervously.  No reaction.  _Well, were you expecting one?  Yikes, he looks really bad—I don't remember Tolkien saying how bad this was_…  She glanced at Sam again, who motioned her forward (she wasn't surprised—he had been the one to say it had 'taken her and Frodo long enough').  "Frodo, I know you're awake, your eyes aren't totally closed."

"It doesn't matter if—"

"Pointing out the obvious might encourage him to open his eyes totally," Mia muttered and Sam nodded.  In a louder voice, she said, "So…er…wakey-wakey?"

"What?"

Mia started to say that was what woke an old friend of hers up in Geometry when Frodo suddenly sat up, blinking in the dim light.  "Mia?" he asked incredulously.  She nodded, choosing not to say 'good, you know my name' (like she would have in Geometry), and smiled.  The hobbit shook his head.  "This is a vision, not real—"

"Oh, really?"  Again, the Geometry method of whacking someone over the head with a pencil wouldn't go over too well.  Mia walked up to the bed and touched Frodo's arm, even though he was looking at her suspiciously.  "Are visions supposed to be flesh and blood?"

"They could be…"

"Frodo Baggins, _what_ is with the suspicious looks?!"

"You aren't acting hysterical," said Frodo matter-of-factly, and Mia blinked.  This was relevant _how?_  "I would think that a not-vision Mia would be a little tense about being in Bag End rather than in her time."

"That's not the point of the matter—and holy time warp, Batman, that is tensifying…that's not a word, why'd I say that?" Mia muttered, her eyes widening.  "Oooh…Sam, why didn't you mention this?"  Before the gardener could answer, Frodo got to his feet and hugged Mia.  "And eek!"

The former Ringbearer looked a bit sheepish, but not in a hurry to let go.  "Forgive me, but I had to be sure that I was not dreaming—I dreamed much lately, and some were not so nice—and…and it is so good to see you again!"

Mia grinned and returned the hug full-force.  "It's good to see you too," she replied.

Sam tactfully began backing out, only to bump into Pippin.  The younger hobbit said, "I thought I heard—good grief, Mia, you are back!"

"Hm?  Oh, yes, hi," said Mia absently.

"And you're short."

There was a brief silence.  Then Frodo released Mia to take a critical look and Sam wondered why he had missed this.  "Oh, yes," both hobbits said at the same time, and Mia's brain caught up with her.  _I am eye-level with Frodo and Sam, and am shorter than Pippin.  I think my feet are bare…good God, I wandered into a fantasy world!  Wait, never mind_…  But the fact that she was the same height as a hobbit (and probably _was_ a hobbit) remained.  She made an 'eeping' sound.  Frodo said, "You did not know this?"

"I think landing face-first on the floor kind of short-circuited my brains, Frodo."

"You did that again?!"

Pippin and Sam exchanged looks that said 'again?', but did not ask.  Simply retreated from the immediate vicinity, guessing that their presence would probably cause embarrassment.

"Don't blame me, blame my English teacher the wizard," Mia said with a huff, and Frodo looked surprised.  "Okay, blame me a little for having no balance whatsoever…but the fall wasn't fun.  Nope, no fun at all."

Frodo smiled.  "I would think the landing, not the fall, would be the problem."

"Well, it was and—why are we still talking?" Mia asked.  "You should go back to recovering!"

"I think that I will be doing much better now."

_What?  Oh!  Oh…darn, my brain is really behind these days_…  Mia smiled.  "Ah, okay."

It was a brief kiss, but a longer embrace.  And both Mia and Frodo were perfectly happy with that.

(Though Pippin wasn't too pleased about nearly tripping over Mia's discarded backpack.)

~*~*~*~

"Randy?" Mr. Little spoke up as Randy was about to leave the English classroom, one day after Rowan and Mia's mysterious absence.  "May I speak with you a moment?"

"Oh, of course, Mr. Little."  The teenage boy looked at his teacher a little cautiously, knowing who Mr. Little really was.  It had never been stated (as in related to the other two 'lucky' adventurers) but Randy had been in an odd limbo between Middle-Earth and modern Earth, where he'd seen Mr. Little and…well, the girls had hinted a little too much.  What was he left to do but infer that the English teacher was all-powerful (in a way that didn't involve the education program)?

Which was really not all that surprising, if one thought about it.

"I know you remember all that has happened," Mr. Little said, a bit carefully.

"Yeah, I do.  And I know, it was you I saw after Rowan…" Randy got very quiet, thinking of how Rowan—his friend—had killed him.  He knew why she had, remembered what he had been thinking just before she had 'killed' him, but it was still "…er, after I disappeared."

Mr. Little only nodded.

"I know what happened then was wrong of me…it's all because of this."  Randy held up a ring.  This Mia had outright told him, after Rowan had been 'making way too many hints'—needless to say, Randy had been a bit on the shocked side.  (And a bit miffed that the girls had escaped the corrupting influence, until they reminded him that they had never really worn their 'rings of power'.)  "Isn't it?"

"One is only as evil as they let themselves be," the teacher answered cryptically.

Randy nodded, pretending that he understood the fortune-cookie-like statement (which he didn't really).  He glanced at the door, wanting to leave and wondering where Mia and Rowan had gotten to recently.  _Hope they're not in any trouble or looking for a secret closet that'll take them to Middle-Earth—though that would be funny!_  He stifled the urge to laugh, and headed for the door.

As he passed Mr. Little's desk, Randy dropped the ring onto one of the candles Mr. Little burned on occasion.  Great effect—bad aiming.  Randy paused to look at the ring.  Whether it was Mr. Little's magic or a deeper magic, it didn't really mater.  The flame became hot enough to melt the ring that had once belonged to a Ringwraith of Sauron.

_Whoa, that's…kind of cool.  Though I didn't think candle flames were—_why_ am I being scientific about this?  Evil thing gone…that is good_.  Randy then turned to leave, now surer of himself than ever.  Before he passed through the doorway, Mr. Little spoke up.

"Oh, and Randy.  You have the potential to do great things."

Yet another odd phrase from Mr. Little.  What _else_ was old?  "Thank you," said Randy, not bothering to hide his confusion and, for the last time, turned towards the doorway.  As he passed through, it was as if the world was underwater.  Everything seemed to shimmer, and then it swirled together into one point of light and color.  Randy was pulled towards this point—everything went blindingly white.  And he got a rather bad feeling of vertigo.

Then, suddenly, there he was, falling to the cold, hard ground of Middle-Earth, in the middle of a forest.

"What the…" Randy muttered, looking around.  _Where am I?  And why do I wish that I had Mia's book—I thought I remembered these things?_

"Hello," said a man, standing just a six inches away.

Randy refrained from yelping in surprise and settled for staring.  And then muttering, "Oh, _now_ what?"

"I'm a Ranger."  _What, there are more—right, there are, who's that other guy?_ Randy wondered.  "I've been expecting you," the man went on, sounding as if he'd been waiting just a moment too long.  Or something like that.  "Gandalf the White—or whatever you know him by in your time—has told me all about you and your misfortunes."

"Oh," Randy said, getting up.  That seemed fair.  Only everyone knew about how he had turned evil…who was he kidding?  That was fair—it was a warning to people.  _Cool, I'm a warning!_  He thought about that.  _How exactly is that cool_?

"I also know you're a good man at heart," the man said, interrupting Randy's meandering thoughts.  "A ring like that would have corrupted any of us.  That's why you get a second chance."

Second chances were good.  Provided that there wasn't any fine print.  "What do I have to do?"

"You have to join me, help me and my kin, do what it is we do."

"Okay…wait."  Randy blinked.  "That's allowed?  Or was it authorized by someone?" he asked, suspecting the latter.

The man nodded once.  "That's right."  He didn't seem bothered by the fact that he'd answered a bit on the ambiguous side.  _Maybe it is both answers,_ Randy thought.  "I am a Ranger, and now you shall be one as well."

Randy was stunned.  He didn't know what to say or do.  Wait, he did.  "A Ranger?"

"Yes.  Do you not agree with that?"

"Uh…" Gosh, did the man have to ask?  "I agree," said Randy.  "But, er, where are we going?"

"Into the wild."

Randy gave him a look.

"To Gondor," the Ranger amended.

"Thank you."

That night, he and the other Ranger made camp and rested.  Tomorrow would start a new and adventurous life for Randy.  It wouldn't be easy—it was not as if he had been prepared for it, after all—and he knew that.  It was going to be a hard, long time and also possibly the best time of Randy's life.

To Be Continued…In the Epilogue.  Yes, there is more—think high school reunion.  Please leave any form of commentary by clicking on the little box below.

Hikki – thanks.  And generally, it takes us from a week to a month to get chapters out and the chapters are over seven pages long—except for the prologue and epilogue.  We're glad you think the story is getting better.

Midnight – thank you very much.

saiyan-girl-cheetah – wow, thanks!  We're glad that you like the story (and its humor and romances) so much.  Hope this chapter was happy enough. J

Yavanna – much thanks for the review…and yeah, it was about time that the couples got a clue, wasn't it? *grin* Hope this chapter met your expectations.

gaile – as always, thank you for the reviews.  And in response to the most recent, yeah, it was sad, but we hope we made up for that…


	18. Epilogue The End Is Near

When the Worlds Cross

By Heather and Jane

_Disclaimer_: Middle-Earth and its peoples belong to the great J.R.R. Tolkien.  Mia, Rowan, and Randy belong to us.  Any and all similarities to real life events/people are pure coincidence—unless they appear with permission.

_Summary_: All good things must come to an end…or at least, the storytellers must take a break.

_Authors' Notes_: co-written between Jane and Heather, two Lord of the Rings fans that are trying to keep true to the story.  First part more movieverse than bookverse, but will soon go to bookverse.  Credit to Heather's father and our friend Wesley as story consultants.

Spoiler alerts: …heck, by now, just say the entire Trilogy.

Quotes/References: quote from _Disney's Aladdin, _bit of paraphrasing of a _Buffy _quote and flat-out referencing about the _Buffy _series, and if we missed any citations, please let us know!

Reader thanks following chapter.

Epilogue

The End is Near

~*~*~*~

An exact year after the death of Boromir, the remaining members of the Fellowship were invited back to Rivendell for a memorial.  Legolas seemed cheerful about this, even though Rowan protested that this hadn't exactly happened in the books.  The Elf Prince reminded her that the books 'are not law'—she refrained from saying that Tolkien had been fairly accurate about everything else.

Given that conversation, Rowan wondered if there was an ulterior motive to this but forgot about suspicion when Legolas insisted that they "make swift tracks."  Which was a good idea, as the two elves had been closer to Mirkwood than Gondor, but the elf seemed to be in a more competitive than practical mood.

Which wasn't really a change, given the good-natured contests and squabbles he'd had with Gimli over the past few months.  Except Rowan could only take so much.

Rowan spent half of the trip arguing about the merits of simply arriving on time, not beating everyone there, and the other half continuing their habit of kissing.  As it was, they arrived after the King and Queen of Gondor, with Gimli (whom they met on the way), and before the hobbits did.  Gandalf (who had to have been there since invitations were sent) said it was something about Sam being mayor.

"Color me unsurprised," said Rowan dryly.

"Unsurprised is a color?"

"Legolas!"

"She's being facetious again, elf, you need not take her so seriously," Gimli scolded Legolas.

Rowan snickered.  Legolas said, a bit put out, "But she is _sometimes_ serious and I—"

"Shush."

Gandalf laughed, and stood up (they had caught him while reading over an old tome of some sort).  "I am not sure who is more right, the elf or the dwarf," said the wizard, and chuckled when the two frowned at each other.  He glanced at Rowan and smiled.  "My, Rowan, how you've grown."

"Ha-ha.  What did you have in mind—just leave things well enough alone and have messes with the whole aging thing?"  Rowan grinned, cheerily ignoring Legolas' curious look.  Some things were better left explained when there was no audience that might start snickering or gaping.  "Where'd Mia end up?"

"She'll tell you," Gandalf replied, and then glanced towards the door of the open room.  "Very soon, I might add.  They're here."

Legolas raised an eyebrow.  "_They_?"

"I don't understand it!" Samwise Gamgee said, from the other side of the door.  "The ponies are always—"

_Oh, I bet I know what's coming!_ Rowan thought with a snort.  Everyone gave her a stern look.  She looked back at them innocently.

"Sam, horses and other equines don't like me," Mia's voice snapped back, sarcastic and tolerant as ever.  "I like _them_ but the feelings not mutual.  Trust me.  I got the bite marks to prove it."

"Methinks Mia ended up in the Shire," Rowan said to Legolas with a grin.

"Bag End, to be precise," said a voice near Rowan's knees.  Rowan looked down and saw Mia the grinning hobbit.  "Hiya."

Rowan stared.  "You're short!"

"Oh, wow, there's a big surprise.  I think I'm gonna have a heart attack and _DIE_ from that surprise," said Mia sarcastically.  Rowan laughed and her now short friend grinned again.  "Sorry, but Merry only reminds me of that twice a day."

"Well, three," Frodo put in, smiling at Mia fondly, "if she makes a big fuss about it."

Mia frowned at him.  "The _last_ time I made a fuss about it, it was still snowing."

"Oh, well, two times then."

"For shame.  Bad, bad Merry," said Rowan, shaking her head in mock indignation.

Gimli let out a snort and left, probably to save himself from overly quippy females.

"Will you shut up?"  Mia didn't seem to upset with her lack of tallness—neither did the still smiling Frodo.  Rowan decided to make a threat about the PDA police, later.  _Just to keep them from kissing or cuddling where I can see—overabundance of cuteness is not needed_.  "And are you still fumbling with the Elvish language, Miss Elf?" Mia asked pertly.

"No," said Rowan in the common tongue.  In Elvish, she said what she hoped was, "I'm getting better."

Gandalf blinked, Legolas snorted, and Frodo laughed outright.  _That_ was a bit of a bad sign.  Mia only rolled her eyes and said, "No _duh_."

"What?  What?"  Rowan looked from Elf Prince to hobbit pair suspiciously.  "What'd I say?"

"'I'm getting _worse_,'" Mia translated.  Rowan frowned and tried again, smirking once she'd finished.  The hobbit girl sighed.  "No, I don't think the falling star would make a good stick."

"_Argh_!"

"That doesn't make sense!" a bewildered Sam exclaimed, looking at Frodo.  Ever loyal, even when he was the mayor.  "Why—"

Mia shook her head.  "Don't ask, Sam.  Please, do not ask."

"You two are as amusing as ever," Gandalf said, sounding as if he were barely stifling a laugh.  Mia and Rowan gave him a look.  He smiled.  "And I take it enjoying yourselves."

"More or less," Mia grinned wickedly.  Frodo coughed.  "What?  I only—"

"Stop it there.  Yeah.  So, where's the rest of the crowd?" Rowan asked as they began to walk out of the open room and down the hall.  "And _puh-lease_ don't—"

"Yep, Pip and Merry probably decided to visit the kitchen."

"There's a surprise," said a very familiar voice.

The girls froze in shock and turned slowly.  "_Randy_?" Mia said, while Rowan squeaked.

"In the house…of Elrond," Randy amended when two girls and one wizard glared at him.

Legolas frowned and looked at Rowan.  "Didn't you, ah, kill him?"

"Er…well, yes," said Rowan carefully, glancing at Randy to gauge his reaction.  He didn't seem too perturbed by the mention of his 'death.'  _All right, then_.  "Yes, I did."

"Then how is he here?" the Elven prince asked in bewilderment.

"It's a Buffy situation," Mia said gleefully.  Sam and Frodo glanced at her worriedly.  _Oooh, boy.  Someone's been telling stories_, Rowan thought, giving her friend a look.  Mia shrugged.  "Well, it is.  The man didn't stay dead—minus the blood sucking fiend issue.  Unless I missed something…"

"Don't worry, you didn't."

"Good, because I don't have a stake," said Mia with a grin.  Randy groaned.  "Oh, stop it.  What are you doing in Middle Earth?"

"Being a Ranger."

Rowan rolled her eyes.  "That makes sense…_not!_  Care to offer an explanation, Gandalf?"

Gandalf tilted his head thoughtfully and said at last, in a solemn voice, "We all have the potential to do great things."

"I've heard _that_ before," commented Randy and glanced down, taking notice of Mia's 'shrinkage' for the first time.  He blinked.  "Mia, you're short."

Now Mia looked irritated.  "Anyone says that again, I'm gonna bite them in the kneecaps!"

"You always say that—let's go find Merry and Pippin before they decide to set off a firework for old times' sake," said Frodo, taking Mia's arm and dragging her off.  Oddly, Mia kept her mouth shut and followed meekly.  (More or less.)

Randy stared.  "There's a sight I never thought I'd see."

"Mia's been that way ever since December twenty-fifth," said Sam, who seemed oddly calm with his master suddenly running off.

"Since Christmas?" Rowan said in surprise.  She'd thought that her friend merely ceased acting sarcastically contrary for a two-week period at the end of the year.

Sam gave her a puzzled look.  "What's Christmas and what's that have to do with anything?" he inquired.  "That was their wedding day."

"Eeep," said Randy, his eyes bugging out.

Rowan swore that she could hear her jaw hitting the floor.  She recovered before Legolas could tell her to stop letting the flies in (she had made a _big_ mistake in telling him that little joke) and said weakly, "Did I hear that right?"

"Yep."

"Oh."  Rowan blinked once, slowly, and stared to smile.  "Ahh.  They got married."  She turned deliberately to Legolas (who suddenly looked panicked) and grinned wolfishly.  "I _knew_ there was something we needed to talk about."

"Um," said Legolas, quite brilliantly.

Technically, he would have said something earlier (since he was a prince) but he and Rowan had been a bit more interested in outdoors, exploring fun—and they'd been traveling with a dwarf, after all.  She'd thought of this from time to time, and Gimli had given them one or two odd looks, and still hadn't brought it up.  Opportunity had been hiding from them and at the time, no one had said a word.

And now opportunity was knocking quite loudly.  Rowan kept smiling.

~*~*~*~

It was highly amusing to see an Elf Prince look that worried, and Randy knew there was a fair good cause for that.  When Rowan smiled like that…people on her bad side started to back away slowly.  Those on her good side looked at her carefully and tried to calculate how long it would take to scurry away.

_And boy, are we looking at her carefully,_ the Ranger-boy thought.  _Though Elfy over there is going to be the one to scurry, oh yes…_

Randy thought he heard Mia say, "Ha, told you!" from somewhere down the hall and then Frodo saying, "All right, you win."  He shook his head, dismissing it until he saw Sam snickering.  _Oh, brother.  When the hobbits start conspiring, then…then you should check your food supply, I thought.  Eek…_

"Don't 'um' me, Legolas," Rowan scolded the Prince of Mirkwood.  "We _ARE_ talking about this and don't think you can wiggle out of it or give me the proper courtship business again."

"I'd listen to her," suggested Randy, when Legolas only stared.  "As you probably know, she can inflict some _major_ damage on someone if they don't listen."

Gandalf chuckled.  "I will go speak with Elrond now—perhaps to warn him," he said thoughtfully, walking off at a rather brisk pace.

Legolas looked _really_ panicked.  "Warn him—"

And now, somewhere that sounded suspiciously like 'right around the corner', Frodo was saying, "Hah, I was right!" to which Mia replied, "I knew this would happen to…but yes, you were."

_Oh, good grief_.  Randy decided everyone was insane.

"—about _what?"_ Legolas shouted after the wizard, looking more than a little worried.

"Mellow out, Legolas," said Rowan, taking his arm.  Randy let out a snort.  "And you, shut up.  We'll discuss…the issue…in private."  Legolas muttered something about small favors, which she pointedly chose to ignore.  With some difficulty, Randy smothered a hoot of laughter.  "Let's go terrorize some hapless targets," the now-tall girl went on cheerfully.

"Stores?" Randy teased.

"With Randy as the first."

"Hey—!"

~*~*~*~

There were no great parties (it _was_ a memorial reunion, after all) but the feasts were certainly cheery enough.  Rowan and Randy yelled at each other about old squabbles and created new ones, while Legolas tried to shut them up.  The rest of the Fellowship watched with amusement and hoped that Rowan wouldn't yank out her bow and arrow.  While that went on, Mia attempted to explain a certain religious holiday to the hobbits.  She wasn't having too much luck and decided to just leave it go for a while.  Everyone else simply enjoyed themselves—much as they could.

"Hey," said Randy at one point.  "I just thought of something."  He sounded rather proud of himself.  "We really _were_ there and back again."

Everyone within earshot paused and turned to stare at Randy.  A few of the elves were a tad amused (though Arwen was _not_ among those) but no one else thought that was funny, really.

Mia shook her head and said, "Can someone hand me a book, preferably a heavy one?"

Randy made a yipping noise and dove under the table.  This set the hobbits off, and Gimli too.

"Randy," Rowan said, peering under the table.  "You're a Ranger.  You're better than this.  So get your little heiny out from under the table.  Now."

"Okay, okay," Randy grumbled, doing just that.

"You could be a little nicer," Mia commented.

"Yeah, right."

And life continued on as it always had (with a few differences) for the three friends from Earth.

THE END

And it is FINISHED!  Wow…well, almost, there's an 'Extra Feature' Chapter in the works…but the main part of the story is done.  Comments (good or bad) please?

Midnight – once again, thank you very, very much for the comments.

gaile – glad you liked our resolution!  And as Heather said, we are thinking about possible spin-offs, but they're still in the planning stages…  Thanks for all the encouragement (and your stories rock)

Yavanna – thanks.  And…well, the story was headed towards a semi-open ending, hence possible spin-off ideas…  As always, thank you for the comments.

saiyan-girl-cheetah – we'll try to keep up the excellent work and thank you very much!

Sabriel – we're working on it…

Serenia-dreamer of the woods – glad that you like the chapters.  Thanks for all the comments. *grin*

[And please stay tuned for news on other writing projects]


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